Archbishop Nikola ETEROVIC, Apostolic Nuncio in Ukraine:
“The visit to Ukraine of Pope John Paul II in June last year is a very important event. Catholics prayed much for the Holy Father to meet not only with them, but also with other Christian believers, Orthodox, Protestants, as well as with all the people of goodwill. His visit to Ukraine was primarily a spiritual event, and that is why it is difficult to describe its results in material terms. In the Catholic Church we have had very positive results: many people with a lack of spiritual guidance have become more exposed to religion. To quote the Holy Father’s apt words, the road for Christians is unity which existed in the first millennium. Unfortunately, the second millennium was witness to a rift among the churches, especially between the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Being Christ’s pupils, we must go the way leading us to unity. Pope John Paul stressed this truth, saying that mutual forgiveness is an inseparable part of this road.
“The political significance of the visit should also be stressed. The Holy Father came to Ukraine at the invitation of Ukraine’s President Leonid Kuchma. It was an official visit not only of the Supreme Pastor of the Catholic Church, but also of the head of the sovereign Vatican state. The visit further improved the relations between the Holy Throne and Ukraine. Besides, thanks to the coming of the Pope to Lviv and Kyiv, Ukraine became better known in the world.
“In my judgment, the visit has dispelled many myths about the Catholic Church and Pope. Ukrainians saw the Pope as he is, an old and physically weak man, but still a Christian, a witness of Christ. Ukrainians could hear the word of the Gospel in their native language and could see the dedication and love with which the Holy Father addressed them. The Pope appealed not only to Catholics, not only to the Christians, but to all people of goodwill, to those who seek the good, truth, and God.”
Viktor YELENSKY, Editor-In-Chief , Man and the World journal, Senior Research Associate of the Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine:
“It seems to me that every society learns for itself the message from a visit by Pope John Paul II, receiving guidance on what should be done or corrected. When this religious leader who has extremely powerful charisma begins to preach (and we all witnessed this in Lviv), some secret mechanisms, something intangible, comes into play, creating an event which, to quote the sociologists, cannot be operationalized. That is, we cannot say how the Papal visit contributed to the upsurge of self-esteem among Ukrainians, especially, in Western Ukraine, what impact it had on the outcome of the 2002 general elections. However, it is clear that the people began to feel more dignity than before, and that the people, if only for ten days, felt it was truly a single people.
“The visit was of crucial importance to the Ukrainian state. With the international community cooling toward Ukraine, the Papal visit, along with other developments, was quite helpful to make the world warm up to our country. At the same time, the country’s leadership received a chance to demonstrate its European choice, with the eyes of at least half of the world’s population watching Ukraine.
“A separate issue is how the visit was viewed within the context of the then relations between Russia and Ukraine, the two countries which still strongly depend on each other. The impact from Ukraine hosting a visit by the Pontiff in the face of the rigid opposition, not only from the Russian church, but also from the state, was probably more pronounced in Russia than in Ukraine. It is difficult to recall when the Ukrainian issue was never more sensitive for the Russian mass media than on the eve of the Papal visit. Yet again, it became clear that the Russian mentality does not differentiate between things Russian and Ukrainian, refusing to treat Ukrainians as a separate people, thus proving that the struggle between pro-Russian and so-called nationalistic forces over influence in Ukraine remains relevant.
“What implications and what continuation for Ukraine the Papal visit will have remains to be fully comprehended. However, without denying the right of any church to organize its internal structure however it sees fit, I do not think that the creation in Ukraine of new dioceses of the Catholic and Greek Catholic churches is really the most significant result that came on the wave of enthusiasm in the wake of the Papal visit. It seems that the church leaders, and this sadly relates to most of Ukraine’s historic churches, attach more importance to visible signs of the church presence than to the deep changes going on in the world.”
Mykola MALOMUZH, Deputy Head, State Committee on Religious Issues:
“When preparations for the visit of Pope John Paul II to Ukraine were underway, it was stressed that, on the one hand, it would be a state visit, and, on the other, a pastoral one, being important for strengthening interstate relations, enhancing Ukraine’s image abroad, molding a stable spiritual environment, and fostering dialogue among the representatives of various confessions and religions. We were able to see how these expectations, great expectations, were fulfilled during and after the visit, especially with the benefit of hindsight.
“During the meeting of John Paul II with members of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches we could see that church leaders were aware that the visit provided a basis for unification. The Holy Father’s words about faith and unity of representatives of various religions based on general religious and human values gave an impulse to the consolidation of the Ukrainian society.
“I would like to emphasize the international significance of the visit. In preparation for and during the visit our organizing committee accredited almost 2800 journalists from 68 countries who came to cover it. This made it possible for us to show that there is such country as Ukraine whose people take international, spiritual, social, and charity issues to heart.
“In the spiritual area, the results of the visit, not that tangible if seen from outside, have sparked internal changes. The religious situation in Ukraine is stable, with the confrontation that we saw in the past gone. Many religious issues and conflicts have been solved or lost their intensity after the Papal visit. At the last session of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches representatives of all religions stressed that much progress has been reached in the last year in the spiritual sphere.
“We are not saying that the time has come for the unification of religions and churches. This is not our goal, and the Pope was of the same opinion. Our goal is extensive cooperation, mutual understanding, and respect for the sake of the overall interests of people. We are supportive of this idea not merely as a state body, but as human beings.”
Bishop Stanislav SHYROKORADIUK, Vicar General of the Kyiv and Zhytomyr diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine:
“At first we have to ask ourselves what we expected from the visit of John Paul II to Ukraine. We expected to receive God’s blessing sent to us through the Holy Father, and such blessing was given not only to the Catholic Church, but also to all Ukraine.
“To say that some extraordinary spiritual revolution has occurred would be wrong. Nor was it expected by us. Things go on their usual way, and the seeds sown by the Holy Father are taking root. We can see the visit’s visible results as the attitude of the authorities toward the Catholic Church is changing and more respect to Catholics is shown. This respect was inspired by the Pope’s personality. Most importantly, we can see more drive in society for spiritual life, with more and more wishing to devote their lives to the service of God and the Church. There is an increasing interest in the Catholic Church, which leads people not only to salvation, but also to civilization, to Europe, and inspires new hope. This is what we expected, and, in my opinion, these expectations have come true. We will get a fuller evaluation of the Papal visit results when we consult. No seed can take root unless it is planted in the good soil and looked after by the farmer. That is why I believe that, to see the seeds sown by the Holy Father grow, much will depend on us, priests, believers, and all those who want to see the seeds’ fruit.”
