Bishop Borecky ready to resign (05/15/94)

Bishop Borecky ready to resign

by Christopher Guly

OTTAWA - The nightmarish turf war for episcopal control in the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Toronto may soon be over.

Bishop Isidore Borecky, 82, who has steadfastly refused to resign as Toronto's first Ukrainian Catholic bishop, even at the urging of the majority of his fellow eparchs at their February synod in Lviv, told The Ukrainian Weekly that he's now ready to step down. The Most Rev. Borecky, consecrated a bishop in 1948 and head of the Toronto eparchy since 1956, is now waiting word from the Vatican about a replacement. Winnipeg's retired Archbishop-Metropolitan Maxim Hermaniuk said that announcement is expected within the next two weeks.

However, Bishop Borecky added he would first consult with his clergy and laity before making a final decision to quit.

This latest development follows a year-long battle for control between the octogenarian eparch and his Holy See-appointed successor, Bishop Roman Danylak, who was installed as administrator and de-facto Toronto eparch last March.

In the last two months, Bishop Borecky was visited by a representative of Archbishop Carlo Curis, apostolic pro-nuncio to Canada, and a canon lawyer from St. Paul University in Ottawa.

In March, Bishop Borecky also met Pope John Paul II at the Vatican, but said nothing about the Toronto problem was discussed during their meeting. "He [the pontiff] has more important problems to worry about, other that the Toronto Eparchy," he explained.

Perhaps, but the issue of leading Canada's largest Ukrainian Catholic diocese of 100,000, has reached a boiling point for many.

"Most clergy are tired of it," said the Rev. Andrij Chirovsky, director of the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute at the University of Ottawa. "It has scandalized us. We want to get our Church back and focus on Jesus Christ."

Most of the world's Ukrainian Catholic hierarchs must have already identified that. In late February, they voted overwhelmingly (25 to 2, according to the Catholic New Times, and 23 to 3, by the Rev. Chirovsky's count) to accept both Bishop Borecky's and Bishop Danylak's resignations. Bishop Danylak was willing to comply, since he was already rumored to have twice offered his resignation to the Holy See; Bishop Borecky refused.

"It's not up to them to make that decision," said Bishop Borecky.

Yet, he explained he is willing to pass his mitre on to one of three candidates, to whom he's given his blessings. They are: Toronto priest John Tataryn, one of 12 clerics suing Bishop Danylak for libel and slander; Severian Yakimyshyn, a Basilian priest based in Rome; and Evtimy Wolinski, superior of the Holy Dormition Monastery in Woodstock, Ontario.

The Rev. Wolinski, 49, a nephew of Edmonton's Bishop Myron Daciuk, said he "would be willing to take the (bishop's) job if there were no unforeseen circumstances." But he added that his superior, Lubomyr Husar in Lviv, has requested that he remain neutral until Rome officially names a successor to Bishop Borecky.

But the next bishop, who would technically be Toronto's third, is bound to have his work cut out for him. "The person will have to have proven organizational skills and also have the ability to rally people around him," explained the Rev. Chirovsky.

He added that although Bishop Borecky made great strides in positioning the Toronto Eparchy as a leader in recovering the Church's Eastern identity and establishing strong links with the Church in Ukraine, he failed to bring the clergy together in his eparchy.

"The good thing about him is that he didn't stand in their way," said the Rev. Chirovsky.

As for Bishop Danylak, the Ottawa-based priest and a member of the Toronto Eparchy for the past 14 years thought "it was unfair to (Bishop Danylak) to have put up with so much opposition.

"No one ever thought that he would get the Toronto Eparchy. He was Bishop Borecky's chancellor for (27) years. Once Bishop Borecky puts you in a job, you basically stay there."

Bishop Danylak declined any comment. But his predecessor said he had recommended other posts for his unlikely successor, including the London Exarchate, the Winnipeg Metropolitan See and the Saskatoon Eparchy.

One source, who requested anonymity, speculated that Archbishop Hermaniuk was behind blocking Bishop Danylak's appointment to Winnipeg in favor of a Redemptorist, Michael Bzdel, who now holds the job. But the 82-year-old archbishop denied the suggestion. "Nobody is supposed to know who the candidates are for bishop. That's secret," said Archbishop Hermaniuk.

Still, Bishop Borecky doesn't have a problem with discussing the names of his three possible successors. He also doesn't care if not all of his some 100 priests concur with his approach or with his decision to stay or go. "Why should I ask them? They belong to the Eparchy of Toronto."

Whether he gets the job or not, the Rev. Wolinski said he hopes that the "people at the heart of the struggle" will help heal the wounds of a bitterly divided diocese. "They will have to come together through prayer."

For his part, Bishop Borecky insists that he will remain in Toronto until he dies. And hopefully forgive, if not forget, those responsible for forcing him to accept the mandatory retirement age of 75. "Of course it's bothered me," he said.

| Home Page |