” “"Today, all the Pastors of the beloved Church that lives in Ukraine are ideally gathered around the Successor of Peter. This is a gesture of ecclesial communion, a telling proof of that brotherly love that Jesus left to His disciples as a distinctive sign": this was said this morning by Benedict XVI, as he received in audience the Bishops of Latin rite of the Ukrainian Church, at the beginning of their visit ad limina. For the occasion, the Pope had also invited the Bishops of Greek Catholic rite, which gather some eparchies, even outside the national territory. With reference to the difficulties, including the recent ones, found in the announcement of the Gospel on the Ukrainian soil, Benedict XVI stated: "The Pope and the collaborators of the Roman Curia are close to you and affectionately follow the progress of each one of your local Churches". Then he invited "the Latin Bishops and the Greek Catholic Bishops to cooperate with each other on friendly terms", by committing themselves to "coordinating your pastoral plans and your apostolic activities", aiming at "ecclesial communion, which is also a prerequisite for ecumenical dialogue with our Orthodox brothers and the brothers of the other Churches". Ukraine has been an independent Republic since 1991; it has a population of 47 million, mostly Orthodox.” “
