VATICAN CITY, JUN 23, 2001 (VIS) - Following a three-hour flight from Rome's Fiumicino Airport, Pope John Paul arrived today at the Boryspil International Airport in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, at 12:30 p.m. local time. His 1,800-kilometer trip, the 94th foreign voyage of his pontificate, took him over Italy, Croatia, Hungary and Ukraine.
The Pope was welcomed at the airport by Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and other civil authorities, as well as Church dignitaries including Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, metropolitan archbishop of Lviv of the Ukrainians, Cardinal Marian Jaworski, metropolitan archbishop of Lviv of the Latins and the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Nikola Eterovic. About 100 children were on hand to celebrate his arrival.
In his speech during the welcome ceremony, the Holy Father spoke of his eagerness "to make this pilgrimage to the renowned churches of Kiev, the cradle of the Christian culture of the whole of Eastern Europe. ... I greet you, Ukraine, brave and determined witness of adherence to the values of faith. How much you suffered in order to vindicate, in difficult times, the freedom to profess the faith!"
The Pope greeted Ukraine's President Leonid Kuchma and said, "through you I wish to greet the Ukrainian people. I congratulate them on their re-won independence and give thanks to God for the fact that this took place without bloodshed."
Addressing his "brother bishops of the Greek Catholic Church and Latin Catholic Church," he said: "What an immense burden of suffering, you have had to endure in years past! But you are responding enthusiastically and re-organizing yourselves, seeking light and comfort from your glorious past. Your intention is to continue courageously in your resolve to spread the Gospel, the light of truth and love for every human being. Do not lose heart!"
"As a pilgrim of peace and brotherhood, I am sure that I shall be welcomed with friendship also by those who, although they are not Catholics, have hearts open to dialogue and cooperation. I wish to assure them that I have not come here with the intention of proselytizing but to bear witness to Christ."
John Paul II extended "a cordial greeting to the dear brother bishops, the monks and priests, and all the faithful of the Orthodox Church, who form the majority of the citizens in this country. I recall with pleasure that down the course of history relations between the Church of Rome and the Church of Kiev have known periods of light ... Unfortunately, there have also been sad times, when the image of Christ's love has been obscured: bowing before our one Lord, let us recognize our faults. As we ask forgiveness for the errors committed in both the distant and recent past, let us in turn offer forgiveness for the wrongs endured. The most fervent wish that rises from my heart is that the errors of times past will not be repeated in the future. May their memory not be a hindrance on the way to mutual knowledge, the source of brotherhood and cooperation."
"The world is rapidly changing: what was unthinkable yesterday is within our reach today. Christ exhorts us all to renew in our hearts feelings of brotherly love. If we rely on love, it is possible ' with God's help ' to transform the world."
He noted how, "down through the centuries, the Ukrainian people have known harsh and exhausting trials." Highlighting a number of these events, Pope John Paul said that "whatever interpretation is given, it is certain that from these experiences, a new hope has been born."
In closing, he said: "Ukraine has a clearly European vocation, emphasized by the Christian roots of your culture. My hope is that these roots will strengthen your national identity."
Following this ceremony, the Holy Father went to the apostolic nunciature in Kiev, then by car to the Greek Catholic Church of St. Nicholas where he recited a brief prayer. Lunch followed this visit. Shortly after 5:30 p.m. he went to pay a courtesy call on Ukrainian President Kuchma.
Kiev, the capital of modern Ukraine with a population of 2.6 million people, was founded by the Slav Prince Kyi in 482. Legend has it that the Apostle Andrew had prophesied that on a hill of Kiev "a great and glorious city" would rise. At the start of the ninth century Kiev became the capital of Rus', a powerful Slav state which spread from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Kiev developed notably under Prince Vladimir. His baptism and that of Kievan Rus' in 988, marked the beginning of Christianity in this territory. At one time Kiev even boasted of having the greatest library of Christianity.
In the 12th century the "city of golden heads" (so-called for the dozens of golden domes of the city's churches) fell to the Tartars who burned it in 1240. Starting in 1362, it fell under Lithuanian, then Polish domination. In the mid-17th century there was a struggle for national freedom. After a long period of domination by Moscow, there was a brief period of independence between the October 1917 Revolution and the 1918 intervention of the Red Army with the successive creation of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
On July 16, 1990, months after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Supreme Council of Ukraine adopted the Declaration on the Sovereign State of Ukraine and this was confirmed by a people's referendum on December 1, 1991.
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