Ukraine

The UGCC Synod in Canada in September Next Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) will be held on 9-15 September in Canada and its main theme will be "The vocation of a layman", announced the head of UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk. According to his words, the bishops have chosen Canada because this year, the Greek Catholics mark the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first bishop of the UGCC, Mykyta Budka, to the country, and "the fruitful activity of lay organization in Canada can be a good example" to be followed. "Our Church has declared 2012 to be the Year of laymen. The UGCC encourages our faithful to be active in the social, cultural and national life", affirmed patriarch Sviatoslav, adding that the Church communities have always been the centers of formation of various organizations and institutions of the civil society. "In September, the Ukrainians of Canada will receive our Synod, and, on the other hand, it is their civil structures that will become a model of how the civil movement can be spread and activity of lay people can be stimulated", concluded His Beatitude Sviatoslav.President Yanukovych meets Church leaders The authorities should ensure equal conditions and possibilities for all the citizens of Ukraine regardless of their religious affiliation. President Viktor Yanukovych expressed this attitude at the meeting with leaders of Churches and religious organizations on 21 March in Kyiv. "The state should undoubtedly create equal conditions for everyone, ensure that each person receives attention and respect that he or she needs", said the head of the state. He noted that there should be no obstacles in regard to meeting of the people’s spiritual needs. According to the Religious Information Service of Ukraine, the president affirmed that he considers unacceptable the breach of the principle of equality in the question of realization of rights and possibilities of the faithful of various confessions. He proposed to hold meetings with the representatives of Churches and religious organizations twice a year. "We are doing a great thing together, we are actually uniting the country", concluded Viktor Yanukovych, emphasizing the importance of joint responsibility for the state of affairs in the country and their development.Prize-giving ceremony at medial Catholic Centre On March 23rd, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the formation of the Kyiv Region, a prize-giving ceremony took place in regional administration offices in recognition to all those who contributed to "spiritual rebirth, and to the dissemination of Christian moral and ethical values". Among the eight candidates from cities of the region in the area of Kyiv, was awarded also the director of the medial Catholic centre and of the TV network of the Roman Catholic Church EWTN, father Pavlo Vishkovskiy. During the presentation of the award, father Vishkovskiy said: "I give thanks to the Lord for the time we are living today in our Country, because today the prizes are given not only to the ‘best milkman’ or the ‘best doctor’ of the area but also to priests. In the 1930s, when the Kyiv Region was born, and for most of its existence, the only ‘recognition’ for priests and for all those who proclaimed the Word of God was capture, imprisonment and murder". Today, added father Vishkovskiy, "the State awards priests of the Roman Catholic Church precisely for the proclamation of the Word of God through the media. For the work carried out by the Catholic Medial Centre, for the efforts aimed at involving young people and children through the publication of the magazines ‘Vodogray’ and ‘Vodograychik’ for the fundamental contribution to the development of the city and of the area given by the Radio network Radio Maria and by the TV station EWTN".Draft bill on homosexual propaganda The Parliament’s committees have begun to consider a bill prohibiting homosexual propaganda in Ukraine. "The Committee on Family, Youth Policy, Sports and Tourism supported the approval of the bill as the basis. We informed the specialized Committee on Freedom of Speech and Information about our decision", reads the letter of the head of the committee, Pavlo Kostenko, regarding the Bill 8711 on Protection of Children From Dangerous Information Space. Deputies of the Parliament propose to prohibit the propaganda of homosexuality in Ukraine by this document. According to the Religious Information Service of Ukraine, over one hundred thousand signatures have been gathered to support the bill in Ukraine.