Pope urges Ukraine's Eastern bishops to work closely with Latin rite

Published: 2008-02-01

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI urged Ukraine's Eastern-rite Catholic bishops to improve dialogue and work more closely with the nation's Latin-rite Catholics. He reminded them that the two rites belong to "one Catholic community, and both have full and equal citizenship" in Ukraine. The pope made his comments Feb. 1 at the end of the Ukrainian Catholic bishops' first "ad limina" visit since 1937. Normally, bishops go to Rome every five years for their "ad limina" visit to report on the situation of their dioceses. However, the Ukrainian Catholic Church, an Eastern rite, was banned in 1946 and driven underground by Soviet authorities. After it was legalized in 1989, the Ukrainian Catholic bishops held extraordinary meetings with the pope in Rome. This year's "ad limina" meeting marked a return to a normal five-year cycle of visits.

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