Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, has resigned at the age of 77.
Cardinal Husar asked Pope Benedict XVI to accept his resignation because
of his declining health, according to informed sources within the
Ukrainian Catholic Church.
The Pope has reportedly accepted his request,
although no official announcement has yet been released.
The resignation of the Ukrainian prelate, who has led the Eastern-rite
Church since 2001, would trigger a meeting of the Ukrainian Synod of
Bishops to elect a new Major Archbishop.
With well over 7 million faithful—including large numbers in the US and
Canada as well as Ukraine-- the Ukrainian Catholic Church is by far the
largest of the Byzantine churches in communion with the Holy See.
Brutally persecuted during the Stalin era, the Ukrainian Catholic Church
emerged with new vigor in Ukraine after the fall of the Communist
regime.
Ukrainian Catholics have argued forcefully for the recognition of a
Ukrainian Catholic patriarchate.
The late Pope John Paul II reportedly
gave that possibility serious consideration, but was ultimately
dissuaded by the recognition that the Russian Orthodox Church, which
claims Ukraine as part of its historical sphere– would vehemently
object.
In 2005, under the guidance of Cardinal Husar, the major see of the
Ukrainian Catholic Church was moved from Lviv to Kiev, the nation’s
capital.
That move was opposed by the some Orthodox leaders,
particularly in Moscow, who saw it as a bid to extend Catholic influence
in a region that has been mostly Orthodox.