Pope of Rome asked to visit Ukraine

An important story in and of itself as much as in light of recent events. President Yushchenko invites the Ecumenical Patriarch to visit for the Ukrainian celebrations of the 1020th anniversary of the introduction of Christianity in Russia in July. Then the Moscow Patriarchate says he can't do that - only Moscow can. So now the good president has invited the Pope of Rome to come to Ukraine.

Kiev, May. 26, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has invited Pope Benedict XVI to visit Kiev.

With Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone visiting Ukraine, President Yushchenko handed the Vatican Secretary of State a personal message to the Pontiff, asking him to visit Kiev sometime this year.

A visit by the Roman Pontiff to Kiev could have great significance, at a time when Yushchenko is seeking to unify the Orthodox churches of Ukraine. Three separate groups are contesting the leadership of the country's Orthodox faithful. One of those groups-- which maintains its fealty to the Patriarchate of Moscow-- has bitterly protested the establishment of a Catholic archdiocese in Kiev, while another-- led by Patriarch Filaret of Kiev-- has been more friendly toward Rome. The Major Archbishop (Patriarch) of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, Cardinal Lubomyr Husar of Kiev, has proposed a single unified Ukrainian patriarchate for all Eastern Christians, bringing together Catholics and Orthodox.

In his talks with Cardinal Bertone, President Yushchenko also asked for help from the Vatican Secret Archives in probing the record of the famine that caused the deaths of millions of Ukrainians under the Stalin regime. Yushchenko referred to the campaign of starvation as a policy of "genocide" under Soviet leadership.

Cardinal Bertone was in Ukraine from May 23 to 26, to preside at two beatification ceremonies, for Sister Marta Vetskaya and Bohdan Khmelnytskyi.