JOHN PAUL II RECALLS APOSTOLIC TRIP TO UKRAINE

VATICAN CITY, JUL 4, 2001 (VIS) - During today's general audience, held in St. Peter's Square, John Paul II spoke of his apostolic trip to Ukraine, which took place from June 23 to 27.

The Pope emphasized that "it was an unforgettable experience for me to preside over solemn Eucharistic celebrations in Kiev and Lviv in the Latin and Byzantine-Ukrainian rites. It was like living the liturgy 'with both lungs'. ... 'Ut unum sint': The words of Christ's heartfelt prayer resounded in an eloquent way in that 'land of borders', whose history carries written in blood the call to be 'bridges' between divided brethren."

After recalling that Ukraine suffered "so grievously the coercion of religious freedom," the Pope referred to the numerous Christian, Jewish, and Muslim victims of Nazi and Communist regimes. "All believers in God, rejecting every form of violence, are called to nourish the indispensable religious roots of every authentic humanism."

The Holy Father noted that his pilgrimage "wished to pay homage to the sanctity of that land steeped in the blood of martyrs." He added that, in this regard, "I had the joy of beatifying thirty sons and daughters of Ukraine, both Latin and Greek-Catholic."

After voicing the desire that "Ukraine draw renewed apostolic enthusiasm from the patrimony of holiness left by these exemplary disciples of Christ and by so many others whom these in some way represent," he expressed the hope that "a rich flowering of vocations will ensure the necessary yield for an effective pastoral service to the People of God."

John Paul II then spoke of the "awaited encounter with youth," saying that he had "symbolically entrusted to 'young' Ukraine the divine law of the Decalogue, as an indispensable compass for its journey, placing it on guard against the idols of a false material well-being and the temptation to avoid responsibilities."

At the end of the catechesis the Pope referred to those in Ukraine who are dedicated to the service of the Gospel and "to the many situations of suffering and difficulty, including that of the imprisoned, to whom I send my affectionate greeting, assuring a special remembrance for them in prayer."

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