INTERVIEW: Lviv's new bishop comments on his assignment (03/24/02)

INTERVIEW: Lviv's new bishop comments on his assignment

On February 25, two days before his episcopal ordination, Father Hlib Lonchyna gave an interview to the Religious Information Service of Ukraine. Following are excerpts of the interview.

Q: Father, what duties and responsibilities will you have as a bishop of the Curia of the UGCC?

A: First of all, as head of the liturgical community, the bishop leads the faithful in prayer, religious services and all spiritual matters. The basic task of the curial bishop is to assist the head of the Church. Whenever the patriarch is not able to participate personally, he sends the auxiliary bishop as his representative. In addition, the auxiliary bishop helps the head of the Church in managing all pressing affairs concerning the entire UGCC. This includes meeting with people, planning and scheduling events, dealing with correspondence, visiting churches and institutions, and receiving guests.

I have, in addition, some individual duties. His Beatitude Lubomyr Husar wants to entrust me with the spiritual care of Ukrainian immigrants in the countries of southern Europe, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece, where there is no bishop. I will have to get acquainted with the problems Ukrainians face in these countries, visit the local communities, organize ministerial work and take an interest in people's lives.

Another task that lies on my shoulders is the work of the liturgical commission, which includes examining the state of affairs, preparing translations, writing new services, for instance, in honor of the newly proclaimed blesseds, and so on. During the first six months of my service as bishop, first and foremost I need to make all the arrangements regarding accommodations and office space and then get acquainted with the issues I will be responsible for. Only then will I be able to get down to work.

Q: How can you use your experience from the apostolic nunciature in Kyiv for your episcopal service in the future?

A: The year and a half that I spent in the nunciature gave me invaluable experience on many levels.

At the ecclesial level, I gained a comprehensive view of the Catholic Church in Ukraine. I accompanied the apostolic nuncio when he was visiting different religious communities in Ukraine. Earlier, I was only aware of the Greek-Catholic reality, whereas now I know more about the Latin rite in Ukraine. Even though there are many believers of non-Ukrainian origin, the Roman Catholic Church is not a Church for foreigners any longer. It is a Church for Ukrainians who want to worship God according to this rite.

Therefore, I had an opportunity to learn more about pastoral ministry, as well as the difficulties and obstacles that confront parishioners, priests and bishops of both rites. In many respects, we face similar problems and could learn from each other's mistakes. We could also share our experience, resources and even facilities.

At the diplomatic level, through my position in the nunciature I met new people and learned more about government, state affairs and international relations. Regarding my work in the office, I have acquired many useful skills, such as keeping files, writing letters in various styles, archiving documents, and so on.

My greatest and most memorable experience, however, was the preparation for the papal visit to Ukraine. I spent most of this time interpreting for the representatives of the pope and the Ukrainian government. In addition, I worked fruitfully with separate delegations, church representatives, journalists and others. Now that I will be serving as bishop, I can hardly overestimate this experience, because I will have to meet people of different backgrounds and classes of society and try my best to resolve new problems.

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