LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (04/05/98)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

"Dirt" presents accurate picture

Dear Editor:

After reading the story "Dirt" by Vadym Semenko, I fully agree with his depiction of the situation in Ukraine and the rest of the former Soviet empire.

There has not been one single trial of the people responsible for mass murder, genocide, deportations, etc.; no trial of persons implicated in murder, executions, crimes against humanity. There never will be - not until they get rid of the criminals running the country now. How can they prosecute each other?

My father was shot at Katyn Forest with thousands of other Polish officers. Why such silence from Poland? The Reds were involved; now they are running the country again. No one was ever charged with that crime. They are sitting comfortably collecting pensions.

I have one suggestion: cut out all support to Ukraine from all our Canadian and American organizations until they put their house in order.

Richard Lubiak
Princeton, British Columbia

A clarification about Society of St. Andrew

Dear Editor:

In Viktor Rud's article of March 8, there are comments about a relationship between the Society of St. Andrew and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A., that call for clarification.

Mr. Rud correctly stated that the Society of St. Andrew is independent, is separately incorporated (1990), tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) and has its own board.

Most likely Mr. Rud was not aware that in 1996 the society accepted the status of church-affiliated organization (prytserkovna orhanizatsia), without losing much of its independence. The Society of St. Andrew continues to retain its own independent board and auditors, separate and it continues to file separate reports with the IRS. But now the society also submits its annual financial report and activities report to the Metropolitan Council and the Sobor of the Church.

The advantages to the society by being affiliated with the Church greatly outweigh the obligations. The president of the society is an ex-officio member of the Metropolitan Council; the privilege is not being used at this time because the present president was elected to the council by the Sobor. The society can send its representative to the Sobor with the right to vote, can publish appeals, reports and information about its activities in the official organ of the Church, free of charge, or, with the approval of the Metropolitan, mail them directly to the parishes.

As to the requirement to channel funds raised by the society for the church projects in Ukraine through the Consistory, this applies only to those funds that are designated for the continuous programs of the society, such as assistance to the elderly or to the Kyiv Theological Academy. However, funds raised for short-term projects, such as the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the UAOC or the bells of St. Michael's Cathedral, for which the society forms special committees that do not necessarily include only members of the Society, often are not channeled through the Consistory for a variety of different reasons. In such instances the society chooses, on its own, not to appeal directly to the parishes for funds.

It must be stressed that channeling funds through the Consistory that are designated for Church programs in Ukraine does not harm these programs in any way. On the contrary, in many instances it was beneficial. For instance, last year the society sent its regular monthly check designated for the Kyiv Theological Academy to the Consistory. Within a few days the society received the Consistory check, double the original amount, and then the society transferred the doubled amount to the academy in Kyiv. The rector of the academy, Bishop Danyil, favors such an affiliation between the Society of St. Andrew and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A.

Michael Heretz
Rutherford, N.J.

Michael Heretz is president of the Society of St. Andrew.

Taxpayers should demand answers

Dear Editor:

Where's our outrage? Dr. Myron Kuropas was much too kind to Neal Sher (ex-OSI commissar) in his March 1 column in asking whether Mr. Sher should be disbarred. What we taxpayers should be demanding to know is why he and his cohorts are not in jail.

Also, by what strange set of coincidences (or is there an international conspiracy - you can't blame the KGB this time) does Mr. Sher get placed into a position in Canada where he can again persecute and prosecute innocent people and ruin the lives of their families?

In addition to us Americans, our Canadian counterparts also should be outraged and concerned.

Not only that, but Ukrainians in Ukraine must be most concerned because, if Canada starts exporting "illegal aliens" (that's all Mr. Sher needs to establish) to Ukraine, you can be quite confident that there will be "international" pressure to execute the "Nazis."

Something doesn't seem quite kosher here.

Jaroslaw Sawka
Sterling Heights, Mich.