N o.1 6
T H E
U K R A IN IA N
W EEKLY
S U N D A Y , A P R IL
1 7 ,1 9 8 3
3
P re s sre v ie w
W h y p o p e a n g e rs K re m lin
N EW
Y O R K
-
T h e S o v ie ts m ay
have been involvedi n the attem ptt o
a s s a s s in a te
P o p e
J o h n
P a u lII n o t
o n ly
b e c a u s e
o f h is
o u tsp o k e n
s u p p o r to f S o lid a r ity
in
h isn a tiv e
P o la n d ,b u t a ls o
b e c a u s e
o f th e
p o s itiv e im p a c th is p a p a c y has had
o nth e C a th o lic C h u rch
inE astern
E u r o p e .
A c c o r d in g
t o
A le x
A le x ie v ,a n
analysto f Soviet and E ast E uropean
affairs withth e Rand Corp., Pope
J o h n
P a u l II has had a r e v ita liz in g
effecto n th e C h u rchi n S o v iet-b lo c
countries becauseo f h is staunch
o p p o s itio n
t o
C o m m u n ist to ta lita \ue000
r ia n is m
a n da r e c o r do f s ta n d in gu p
t o C o m m u n is t r e g im e s , p a r tic u la r ly
in P o la n d , w h e r e h e w a s c lo s e ly tie d
w ith C ardinal Stefan W yszynski.
M r. A lexiev m ade h is observations
ina n a r tic le p u b lis h e d in th e M a r c h
30 issueo f th e W all Street Journal.
In
C z e c h o s lo v a k ia ,fo r e x a m p le ,
th e C a th o lic C h u r c hi s e x p e r ie n c in g
w hat
M r.A le x ie v
d e s c r ib e d
as a
" r e m a r k a b ler e v iv a l,"w h ic h in c lu d e s
w id esp read
u n d e r g r o u n d
r e lig io u s
lifea n d te n so f th o u s a n d so f p a r tic i\ue000
pants and a clandestine press.
"The po pe has been accusedb y th e
a u th o r itie s
o fa c tiv e ly
e n c o u r a g in g
th e s e
ille g a l
a c tiv itie s
e v e n
to the
p o in t
o fc o n s e c r a t i n g
th r e e
s e c r e t
bishops for the underground church,"
w r o te M r. A le x ie v . " Ina b o ld e ffo r t
t o
h e lp
th eC hurch
r e g a in
som e
control overi t s affairs,th e Vatican
is s u e d
ad e c r e e
in
M arch
of 1982
p r o h ib itin g a n y p o litic a l a c tiv itie sb y
p riests, w hich w as seen by m any as a
d ir e c t a tta c ko n p r o -r e g im e C a th o lic
o r g a n iz a tio n s th r o u g h
w h ic hth e
authorities often
c o n tr o lle dth e
C h u r c h ."
j
I nL ith u a n ia , a
hom ogehously
C a th o lic S o v ie t r e p u b lic , th e C h u r c h
h a s
b e e n
e x p e r ie n c in g
a
d r a m a tic
revival since the early 1970s, and has
em erged as th e m o st m ilitan t C hurch
inth e S o v ie t U n io n .
W ith in w e e k so f th e p o p e 's e le c \ue000
tio n ,L ith u a n ia n p r ie s ts o r g a n iz e da
C atholic C om m itteefo r the D efense
o f
Believers' Rights,t o
a s s is tth e
h ie r a r c h y in p u b lic iz in ga n d r e s is tin g
th e
v io la tio n
o f th e
c o n stitu tio n a l
rights of believers.
A c c o r d in g
to M r.A le x ie v , P o p e
J o h n
P a u l II has fir m ly ,i f q u ie tly ,
su p p o rted
th e
L ith u a n ia n
str u g g le .
Heh a s , fo r exam ple, refused
t o
a p p o in t r e g im e -a p p r o v e d
c h u r c h
o ffic ia ls , c o n s id e r e d c o lla b o r a to r s b y
m ost
b e lie v e r s .
It isa ls o
w id ely
rum o red
th a t
i n
1979 the
p o p e
bestow ed the cardinal's hati n pectore
t o
B is h o p
S te p a n o v ic iu s , a m an
r e c o g n iz e d
b ym o s t L ith u a n ia n s a s
th e h e a d o fth e irC hurch, e v e n th o u g h
h eh a s liv e di n in te r n a l e x ile fo r o v e r
20 years becauseo f h is oppositiont o
the regim e's policies.
"N o
less troublesom e
fo r th e
K rem lin," w rote M r. A lexiev," h a s
b e e n
P o p e J o h n P a u lH 's p e r c e iv e d
im p a c t
o n
th e
U k r a in ia n
C a th o lic
Churcho f th e Eastern R ite."
S a id
M r. A le x ie v of theC hurch:
" T h e
U n ia te
C hurch, as it is also
know n, h a s fo r centuries com m and\ue000
e d
th ea lle g ia n c e
o f th ep e o p le in
w estern
U k r a in e , w h ic h
w asin c o r \ue000
p o r a te d
in to
th e
S o v ie t
U n io n
fo llo w in g
th e
N a z i-S o v ie t
p a c ti n
1 9 3 9 .
A s ar e s u l t , it becam e an
o b v io u s ta r g e to f th e S o v ie t d r iv et o
e x tir p a te U k r a in ia n n a tio n a lis m a n d
wasth e only Church
in theS o v ie t
U n io n to be o u tla w e d o u tr ig h t."
M r . A le x ie v a d d e d th a tth e p lig h t
o f U k r a in ia n C a th o lic s ,w ho h e s a id
have been persecuted and victim ized
liken o other Church
in theS o v ie t
U n io n ,
h a s
b e e n
com pounded
b y
"the seem ing lacko f interesto n th e
parto f John Paul H 's predecessors,
w ho
a p p e a r e d
t o
h a v e
a b a n d o n e d
them in the interest of good relations
with M oscow."
A s e x a m p le so f P o p e J o h n
P a u l
H 's com m itm ent to the C hurch,M r.
A le x ie v
c ite d
th ef i r s t
sy n o d
o f
U n ia te
b ish o p s,
c o n v o k e d
by the
p o n tiff in the sp r in g of 1980, and a
recent synod calledi n February.
" D e s p ite p a r tic u la r ly b r u ta lK G B
suppression, an underground church
w ith as m any as 500 priests and three
b is h o p si s r e p o r te d to be flo u r is h in g
inth e U k r a in e ," M r . A le x ie v r e p o r t\ue000
e d .
H e
a ls o
n o te d
th efo rm atio n
in
U k r a in e
last year
o f th eIn itia tiv e
Groupfo r th e Defenseo f the Rights
o fth e C h u r c h , w h ic h b o ld ly p e titio n \ue000
edth e governm entt o reopen Uniate
churchesa n d m o nasteries.
In a d d itio n
to his influence w ith
C atholic C hurches, the popeh a s also
fo r g e d
lin k s w ith o th e r E a st E u r o \ue000
p e a n
C hurches,
m ost
n o ta b ly
th e
O r th o d o x d e n o m in a tio n s .
T he
e ffe c tiv e n e s s
o f
th e
p o p e 's
efforts on behalf of Eastern C hurches
canb e m easuredb y the vitrio l ofth e
a tta c k s
o n h im
in theS o v ie t and
Soviet-bloc m edia. B eforeh is tript o
P o la n d ,fo r e x a m p le ,th e p o p e w as
la r g e ly ig n o r e d
in the Soviet press.
But this approach
w asa b r u p tly
a b a n d o n e d
a fte r
h istr ip , a n d w a s
r e p la c e d
by a strident cam paign to
p a in t h im a sa n a n ti-s o c ia lis t a g e n to f
the W est.
" S im u lta n e o u s ly ,
a
c a m p a ig n
o f
p h y sic a l
in tim id a tio n ,
a s s a u lts
o n
priestsa n d desecration, lootinga n d
b u r n in go fc h u r c h e s h a s ta k e n p la c e ,"
a c c o r d in g
t o
M r.A le x ie v .
" M o st
om inously, three activist priests( i n
L ith u a n ia ) h a v e b e e n
m urdered,
fo llo w in g
v ic io u s
m edia
a tta c k s
against th em , in circum stances w hich
suggestK G B involvem ent."
In
M r.A le x ie v 's v ie w , M r. A n \ue000
dropov's riset o powerh a s thusfa r
s ig n a le d
g r e a te r
r e p r e s s io n
a g a in st
th e C a th o lic C h u r c h , h ig h lig h te db y
the arrestso f the R ev. Svarinskas,a
fo u n d in g m e m b e ro f th e L ith u a n ia n
believers' co m m ittee,a n d Y osyp
T e r e lia , h e a d o f th e U k r a in ia n in itia \ue000
tiv e g r o u p .
In
h is
c o n c lu s io n ,
M r.A le x ie v
n o te d
th a t as a
lo n g
as thep o p e
m a in ta in sa n
a c tiv e
in te r e s t in the
Church behindth e Iron Curtain,h e
w ill
b e
p e r c e iv e d
as an
extrem ely
d a n g e r o u s th r e a tb y th e K r e m lin .
W rote th e author:
"It should com e as no surprise then
thatth e K rem lin's attitudes toward
the pope som e four years afterh is
electiona n d closet o tw o years after
th e a tte m p to n h is life c o n tin u e tob e
u n r e m ittin g ly h o s tile a n d in c r e a s in g \ue000
ly c o n fr o n ta tio n a l.F o r M o s c o w ,
John PaulI I was and continues to be
m uch
m ore
th a n
a
n a r r o w
P o lis h
p r o b le m .
R e s o lu tio n o n c o m m u n ity
la w
a n d o rd e r
o f th e U N A S u p re m e E x e c u tiv e C o m m itte e
W e,th e m em b ers o f the Suprem e Executive Com m ittee o fth e U k r a in ia n
N atio nal A sso ciatio n , gathereda t our regular m eeting o n W ednesday, A pril
6, 1983, and having heard the reportso f Suprem e President JohnO . Flis, our
rep resen tativeo n th e C o m m ittee for Law and O rder in the U C C A ,a n d
Suprem e
T r e a su r e r
U la n a
D iachuk,o u r representative
o n th e
N a tio n a l
C o m m itteet o C o m m em o rate G en o cid e V ictim si n U kraine 1932-33, assert
th e fo llo w in g :
1. AHattem p ts tod a te of the C o m m ittee for Law and O rder tob r in g
about this law and order\u2014
after it w as violated duringth e preparatory stages
and at the 13th C ongresso f U krainiansi n A m erica by the representativeso f
o n e id e o lo g ic a l-p o litic a lg r o u p k n o w n u n d e r th e nam e " U k r a in ia n L ib e r a tio n
F r o n t"-
haven o t been successful.T he representativeso f th e Ukrainian
L ib e r a tio n F r o n t,w h o a c t in th enam e" o f th e U C C A , s h o w e dn o t o n lyn o
signso f willingnesst o com prom ise but no expressions whatsoevero f good
w ill. S u c ha n a b s e n c eo f c o m p r o m is e a n d g o o d w ill o n th e p a r to f U k r a in ia n
L iberation Front representativesi n the U C C A has been confirm ed alsoi n the
a tte m p tso f th e a fo r e m e n tio n e d n a tio n a l c o m m itte et o h o n o r th e m e m o r yo f
the victim so f th e G reat Fam ine.
2 . W ith great regreta n d concernw e assert that eventh e w ell-know na n d
hopeful "Appealo f th e hierarchso f th e Ukrainian Catholic Church in the
U n ite d S ta te st o th e fa ith fu l a n d e s p e c ia lly to th e le a d e r s o f a ll o r g a n iz a tio n s "
(S e p te m b e r8 , 1 9 8 2 ), w ithi t s c a llfo r a n e n dt o th e c r is is a n d fo r p e a c e inth e
sp irito f C h ristian
v ir tu e
a n d national interest -
ana p p e a l w h ic h w as
supportedb y th e official press organo f the U krainian O rthodox Churchi n
the U .S.A ., w hich Patriarch Josyfo f the "Pom isna" (Particular) U krainian
C atholic C hurch supported in h is letters,a n d w hicha ll o u r institutionsa n d
o r g a n iz a tio n s w e lc o m e d w ith g r a titu d e and new h o p e \u2014
w a sn o t w e lc o m e d
by L iberation Front representatives. T his historic appeal and its authors \u2014
our hierarchs \u2014 "were condem nedb y th e Liberation Front in its press.
3 . T h ec o n tin u a tio n o f th is state o fa ffa ir s is only an unnecessary w aste o f
tim e th a t is in ju r io u st o o u r c o m m u n ity , a n d its d e v e lo p m e n ta n d g r e a t g o a ls .
Therefore,w e instructo u r representatives o n th e C om m ittee fo r Law and
O rder in the
U C C A , a lo n g
w ith
th er e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f th eU k r a in ia n
Fraternal A ssociation,t o support the already planned actionsa n d to propose
necessaryn ew actions aim eda t realizing in th e briefest possible tim e\u2014
a n d
not later thanb y th e endo fth is year \u2014
o u r u n a n im o u s d e c is io n o f J u ly 2 2 ,
1 9 8 2 ,w h ic h s ta te d : " W ithth e c o n s ta n t c o n s u lta tio na n d fu ll c o o p e r a tio no f
all o th er m em b erso f th e C o m m itteefo r L a w a n d O rder in the U C C A ,t o
c o n tin u et o m a k ea ll e ffo r tst o fu lly r e a liz e th e fo r m a tio no fa r e p r e s e n ta tiv e
c o m m u n ity
o r g a n iz a tio n , w h ic h
w ill c o n tin u eth e tr a d itio no f th e U C C A
p r io r to the 13th C o n g r e ss and its p r e d e c e s s o r s ..."
S u p r e m e E x e c u tiv e C o m m itte e
o f th e U k r a in ia n N a tio n a l A s s o c ia tio n
Jersey C ity, N J ., A p ril 6, 1983
W a ll S tre e t J o u rn a l: c o n tin u e M a d rid
N EW
Y O R K
-
T he
W all
S tr e e t
J o u r n a l, in a r e c e n t e d ito r ia l, c a lle dfo r
a c o n tin u a tio n
o f th estalem ated
M a d r id
C o nference
o n
human rights
and securityi n Europe, which has been
in sessionfo r over tw o anda halfy e a r s .
The conference, w hich w as convened
t o
r e v ie w
c o m p lia n c e
w ith
the 1975
H elsinki A ccords,h a s been deadlocked
asa resulto f E ast-W est haggling over
s u c h
issu esa s hum an
r ig h tsa n d d is \ue000
arm am ent. T he last sessio n recessedo n
M arch2 5 w ith both sides still far apart
on the form at and content ofa conclud\ue000
ing docum ent.
C o m m e n tin go n th e p o s s ib ility th a t a
co m pro m ise m ay be reached invo lving
the possible releaseo f Soviet dissident
A natoly Shcharansky in exchange fo ra
so fte n in g
o f W estern
dem ands, th e
Journal said
that sucha move would
"shunt aside the reason there'sa M adrid
stalem atet o b egin w ith ."
The newspaper noted that since th e
s ig n in go f th e o r ig in a l a g r e e m e n t e ig h t
y e a r sa g o , S o v ie t v io la tio n so f h u m a n
rights have grow n w orse,and it citeda s
exam p les th e arrestso f m em berso f th e
s o -c a lle d
H elsin k i
g r o u p s,
o r g a n iz a \ue000
tio n s
set up
b yp r iv a te
c itiz e n s
t o
m o n ito r
S o v ie t
c o m p lia n c e
w ith
th e
a c c o r d s .
" F ro m
as tr ic tly
hum an
v ie w p o in t,
it's hardt o fault the sw apo f th e M adrid
talks for M r. Shcharansky," saidth e
J o u r n a l," b u t th e p r in c ip lei s b o th e r \ue000
som e."I t said that M r. Shcharanskyi s
" o n lyth e m o s t p u b lic iz e do f th e 16 o r
m ore
in c a r c e r a te d
m em b ers
o f th e
M oscow
H e ls in k i G r o u p ,n o t to m e n \ue000
tio n s im ila r g r o u p si n A r m e n ia , S o v ie t
G e o r g ia , L ith u a n iaa n d th e U k r a in e ."
" T h e
H elsin k i
F in a l Act has b e e n
c o n te m p tib ly tr e a te d ,b u t it w a s n o t a
c o n te m p tib le d o c u m e n t,"th e e d ito r ia l
w ent o n. "Its standardso f hum an rights
w ere
fa r more coherent than
th e d e \ue000
b a se d s lo g a n sn o w c ir c u la tin gi n in te r \ue000
n a tio n a l r h e to r ic ."
"Better to let the M adrid stalemate
en d u re,n o
m atter
h o w
sic k
o f it w e
m ig h t b e ,"th e e d ito r ia l s a id .
P e n te c o s ta ls le a v e ...
(C o n tin u e d
fr o m
p a g e1 )
w hom
liv ei n C h e r n o g o r s k .
W h ile
inS ib e r ia , L id ia b e c a m e th e
ta r g e t
o f
in te n se
governm ent
h a r a s s \ue000
m ent. There w ere reports that she and
h er
fa m ily
w ere
b e a te n
b y
unknow n
assailantso n several occasions.I n July
of last year, sh e, her m o ther, sister and a
co u sin
d e c la r e d
another hunger strike
to press their dem ands.T he fast coin\ue000
c id e d
w ith
th efo u r th
a n n iv e r sa r yo f
their stay in the em bassy.
L a st m o n th , th e a u th o r itie s to ld L id ia
t o a p p lyfo r e m ig r a tio nt o e ith e r G e r \ue000
m anyo r Israel even though she wasn o t
Jew ish
o r
G erm an .
S h e
ch o se
Isr a e l, and w as g r a n te da v is a .
D espite L idia`s departure, there have
beenn o guaranteesb y th e Soviets that
the resto f th e P entecostals w ill follow
in her fo o tstep sa n d be perm itted to leave.
The Pentecostal denom ination,a funda\ue000
m en talist
Protestant sect,is n o t offi\ue000
c ia lly
s a n c tio n e d
in
th e
U SSR .T he
S o v ie ts h a v e m a in ta in e d th a tth e s e c t's
r e lig io u s p r a c tic e s v io la teth e c o u n tr y 's
law s.
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