Providence president announces mediation efforts in UCCA rift (12/26/82)

Providence president announces mediation efforts in UCCA rift

PHILADELPHIA - Msgr. Stephen Chomko, supreme president of the Providence Association of Ukrainian Catholics, a fraternal organization based in Philadelphia, has announced that he has begun and will continue mediation efforts to resolve the current split within the U.S. Ukrainian community that occurred at the 13th Congress of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America in October 1980.

Msgr. Chomko made the announcement in a statement published in the December 22 issue of America, the official publication of the Providence Association. Msgr. Chomko's statement was datelined Hartford, Conn., December 20, and headlined "Announcement about steps toward mediation by the supreme president of the Providence Association."

In the statement, Msgr. Chomko noted that he plans to call a meeting of representatives of the UCCA, the Committee for Law and Order in the UCCA and other organizations, and, if this meeting shows that there is a foundation for settling the current dispute, he will propose the creation of an arbitration board to prepare a plan for action for resolving dispute within our community.

The full text of the announcement (in English translation prepared by The Weekly staff), follows.

* * *

During the past two months I have met with various key persons in attempting to ascertain if there is a basis for expanding my attempts at mediation aimed at preventing a permanent rift within the Ukrainian community in the United States. These discussions, in my opinion, were useful and constructive, and, therefore, I decided to convene a meeting of representatives of the Ukrainian National Association, Ukrainian Fraternal Association, the Ukrainian National Women's League of America - the founding member-organizations of the UCCA - and a representative of the professionals, in order to more precisely define the positions of those parties that could participate in any mediation activity. This meting was held Monday, December 20, at the UNA building in Jersey City, N.J., and, at the meeting, a general plan for further mediation attempts was formulated.

In the very near future I plan to invite representatives of the UCCA executive board, the Committee for Law and Order in the UCCA and leaders of other organizations to special meetings, and, if these meetings demonstrate that there is a basis for understanding, I plan to propose the establishment of an arbitration committee that would be charged with preparing a concrete plan of action for the settlement of the misunderstandings within our community.

While informing the membership of the Providence Association of Ukrainian Catholics and all our community members about the above, I ask for further support of my mediation attempts.

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