Ukrainian Catholics in Australia mark 50th anniversary (08/08/99)

Ukrainian Catholics in Australia mark 50th anniversary

MELBOURNE - The weekend of July 10-11 was a busy and joyful time for Ukrainian Catholics in the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Ss. Peter and Paul in Australia, as Bishop Peter Stasiuk led his faithful in celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Australia.

"We were a displaced nation of people far from our national land after suffering the terrors of the second world war," said Bishop Stasiuk to the several thousand faithful gathered to pray on Sunday, July 11, at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Cathedral in Melbourne.

In 1949, the Rev. Pavlo Smal was the first Ukrainian Catholic priest to arrive in Australia. At that time Archbishop Daniel Mannix of Melbourne welcomed the newly arrived Ukrainian refugees and invited them to hold their liturgies in Roman Catholic parishes until they were able to build their own churches.

The weekend celebrations began on July 10 in the Ukrainian Cathedral of Ss. Peter and Paul in North Melbourne. In acknowledgement of the pioneering work of Bishop-Emeritus Ivan Prasko, Bishop Stasiuk established three new offices in the eparchy.

The eparchy established a Caritas office, which is part of the Caritas Australia structure. On hand to open this office was the president of Caritas Australia, Bishop Hilton Deakin, Caritas Australia's national director, Tom Story, and the president of Caritas Ukraine, the Rev. Ken Nowakowski. Caritas, a Latin word that means mercy or charity, is an international confederation with member- organizations in over 190 countries and territories that work with the poor regardless of their ethnic background or religious beliefs.

Closely linked to the work of Caritas will be the work of the eparchial Centacare office. Bishop Stasiuk told the faithful gathered in the cathedral: "We are establishing Centacare in our eparchy to respond to the needs of our community. Centacare and Caritas will work to ensure that no one feels that they have no one to turn to, that they have nowhere to go when they are in crisis." The Rev. Michael Kalka will head both of these offices in the eparchy.

Sister Maria Moravski, SSMI, was named director of the new eparchial Religious Education Center. "In establishing and opening our eparchial Religious Education Cente, today, we are making religious education a priority. Solid religious formation in the teachings of the Church is essential for the development of an active and healthy Christian community," said Bishop Stasiuk.

In Australia from Ukraine for his first visit, Bishop Lubomyr Husar, auxiliary bishop to Cardinal Myroslav Ivan Lubachivsky, head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, said: "We are most impressed that Bishop Peter has established Caritas, Centacare and the Religious Education Center in the eparchy as a continuation of the initial impetus that has carried this eparchy in the last decades."

Also to commemorate the anniversary, the eparchial museum opened a new exhibit, "Diversity in Rite, Unity in Faith." Natalia Moravski, museum projects officer, developed the exhibit that contains Ukrainian icons, Byzantine liturgical vestments, and other religious art and artifacts. "We owe our gratitude to Father Zenon Chorkawyi, curator of our museum for having the foresight to collect the items on display over the last few decades," said Bishop Stasiuk at the official opening.

On July 12 Bishop Stasiuk was the main celebrant at the commemorative Ukrainian Byzantine-rite divine liturgy, held at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Cathedral. Celebrating with Bishop Stasiuk and Bishop Husar, were Bishop Basil Losten and Bishop Michael Wiwchar from the United States. Also concelebrating were Roman Catholic archbishops from Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth, and 25 Roman Catholic bishops from Australia. Archbishop George Pell, Roman Catholic prelate of Melbourne, presided at the liturgy.

In his homily Bishop Husar said that, "even though it was especially painful to leave one's homeland, the Ukrainian Catholic Church had flourished in Australia. We ought to be conscious of the spiritual treasure we have brought with us."

Bishop Husar later stated that "the numerically very high participation of Latin-rite bishops even from very distant parts of Australia indicates the high respect for the local Ukrainian communities of our eparchy and the esteem with which they hold Bishop Peter for having integrated our Ukrainian Catholic Church into the mainstream of Australian Church life."

Also in attendance at the divine liturgy were James Gobbo, the governor of Victoria, Bruce Billson, federal member of Parliament representing Prime Minister John Howard, Con Sciacca, federal opposition MP, and state government leaders.

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