Interview with Cardinal Lubomyr Husar
By Edward Pentin, Rome correspondent
31 January 2008

His Beatitude Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, made an historic trip to Rome recently after he and his brother bishops made their first ad limina visit to the Pope in 70 years. He spoke to The Catholic Herald in February about his concerns for Ukrainian Catholics, and about his close ties with the United States.

What concerns did you raise with the Pope and Vatican officials on your ad limina visit?

The primary purpose, after so many years of absence, 70 to be exact, was not only me personally but the entire group wished to thank the Holy Father in person, and his predecessors and collaborators, for what the Church of Rome has done for our Church, especially in the period of our silence, forced silence. Then, the priorities which interest us the most are to prepare clergy and to prepare lay people for the new life.

During the time of persecution, our Church survived through the grace of God. But we have to be very conscious that, notwithstanding the difficulties, it was in a certain sense easier because things were pretty much black and white. Now that we have been liberated and now face the world that does not persecute us directly, we have to find the inner force, and the inner conviction to live as members of Christ’s church. And this is not always so easy. It means what we have to establish a very close link between what we believe and how we behave. There have been many people who have, thanks be to God, remained faithful in the sense that their faith has not faded. They believed, they prayed and when it became possible, they filled the Churches. But they had difficulty being Christians from Monday to Saturday having been educated in Communist schools.

In the practical life, perhaps I can illustrate the difficulty in this way. Anyone who follows the situation in Ukraine today is conscious that there are many, many disorders in political, economic, social and cultural life. And many people think: how come? What has happened? The answer is actually rather simple. I would say: Communism tried to do away with God, Christian morality. They didn’t completely succeed, they weren’t able to deprive people of their faith nor let them completely forget how Christians should behave. But they have wounded people deeply and people today, even when they know what they should do (many, however, do not) but even those who do know, don’t find it easy to live a Christian life, to life fully according to the moral precepts of Christ’s teaching. So it is our primary duty today, the duty of the Church in general, to help people and this is, I would say, the primary element that we wished to present the Holy Father, and also his collaborators whom we meet.

In recent years, the Russian Orthodox Church has accused Catholics of proselytising after the fall of Communism. What is the current situation regarding Catholic-Orthodox relations in Ukraine?

In the Ukraine, we don’t have this accusation as frequently expressed as it is in, for example, Russia. But we do not have any formal dialogue, or any formal contacts. However, we do have contacts in a different way, meaning we have in Ukraine an old Ukrainian council of churches and religious organisations which is composed of Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants and even Muslims and Jews. There are 19 members representing numerous traditional religious bodies and we collaborate. We discuss things together, we react to certain realities together. Here there is real collaboration, an open discussion, and before we sign anything, we discuss, evaluate and then as a result of this, with our common experience and common understanding of the needs, we sign it together. There’s also collaboration in the field of education, social service, on different levels and in different ways. You see, our inter-confessional situation is very peculiar, and even though we don’t try to hide our differences, somehow we manage to go forward, not always 100 percent peacefully, but to a great extent peacefully and creatively. Maybe that’s the peculiarity of our situation in Ukraine, even though, as I mentioned at the beginning, in certain respects we have no special, very formal relations.

A couple of years ago, the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church had a dispute with the Orthodox when you decided to move your patriarchate to Kiev. Has this dispute now been resolved?

The problem is this: returning to Kiev after 200 years was seen by some Orthodox as aggression on what they consider canonical territory. But maybe I could relate a concrete example: a few days after the formal transfer, we celebrated Independence Day on 24th August and as I was walking down the street. Two elderly ladies came up, recognised me, maybe from television or whatever, and said: “We are teachers by profession, we are Orthodox, and we welcome you in Kiev.” That was a very touching moment for me. It was completely unsolicited, so spontaneous and natural, and I think majority of population has reacted this way. There have been certain groups, there’s been formal but not very strong opposition in the sense that today, in our daily lives, it doesn’t present any real problem. We feel very at home and very welcome.

What were the highlights of studying at the Catholic University of America? What did you learn from that formative time in the United States?

I was at a student there, first at a minor seminary in Stamford, Connecticut, and then I did theological studies in Washington at the Catholic University of America. These were very happy years, and last year the Catholic University awarded me an honorary doctorate after 50 years. I must say, even though I personally don’t usually like these things very much, I was very thrilled by this because the entire past, of a young student and young priest, came back to my mind. In my own personal life these were very happy moments and I think back with joy.

I would like to say that looking back today, I am very grateful to the United States because I came to the U.S. as displaced persons, as we were known, that is persons who had no place to go because of the Second World War. The United States welcomed us, and gave us the opportunity to study, work and develop. Especially when I look back into my own life I am very, very grateful for that, as a person but also for my own family and all those who have found a home in the United States and for whom the US have been open to receive and to give the possibility of a normal life.

You’ve suffered some persecution in life on account of the faith. Please can you explain for those who may be suffering persecution today what’s the best way of coping with it?

I must admit that really, honestly, I have suffered very little active persecution in a personal sense. But from this very, very little that I have had to go through (and I would say even more from observation from others who have really carried the burden of persecution and have survived), I would say the best way is to unite oneself to Christ because, you see, we all suffer something. There is no person who could say he hadn’t had to suffer anything. No, everybody suffers somehow, somewhere, and there are different ways you can react.

It has been said that suffering makes a person noble, that who has suffered a lot somehow becomes spiritually stronger and noble. Well, not automatically. Suffering has to be accepted the way Christ accepted his suffering. He freely, willingly, accepted it. And from my experience of watching others and hearing their stories, those who have accepted, who have carried their burden together with Christ, they have really made great spiritual progress. They have really become spiritually noble.