La Salle University holds international conference on Pope John Paul II and Ukraine (06/12/05)

La Salle University holds international conference on Pope John Paul II and Ukraine

by Nicholas Rudnytzky

PHILADELPHIA - An international conference on "The legacy of Pope John Paul II and Ukraine" was hosted here by La Salle University on June 5. Held to mark the 30th anniversary of the St. Sophia Religious Association of Ukrainian Catholics (USA), and to commemorate the late pontiff, the one-day conference was organized by a committee headed by Dr. Leonid Rudnytzky, president of St. Sophia.

Over 60 people attended the conference, including students and professors from neighboring colleges and universities. They were welcomed to La Salle by the university's president emeritus, Brother Daniel Burke, FCS. In his remarks Brother Burke dwelled briefly on the historical ties that bind La Salle and the Ukrainian community, recounting some of the more important Ukrainian American scholarly and civic events that took place at the University since the 1960s.

Brother Burke noted: "Our conference is, as far as I know, the first scholarly event dedicated to Pope John Paul II and one nation, namely Ukraine. As such, it may well serve as a model for future events."

Prof. Albert Kipa, rector of the Ukrainian Free University of Munich, chaired the first session of the conference. He introduced Bishop Basil Losten of Stamford, Conn. as the keynote speaker. Drawing on his personal relationship with the late pope, as well as on scholarly sources and documents, the Bishop offered a comprehensive account of Pope John Paul II's activities and their impact on Ukraine. He stressed the pontiff's personal sanctity and benevolence toward the Ukrainian faithful, as well as the ecumenical spirit that informed his pontificate. It was Pope John Paul II who named Bishop Losten to the Pontifical Commission for Unity.

The second speaker was the Rev. Mark Morozowich of the Catholic University of America, who delivered a paper titled "Pope John Paul II and the Liturgical Life of the Ukrainian Catholic Church: A Return to Eastern Identity." The speaker stressed the positive influence of the late pontiff on contemporary Ukrainian spiritual life. He also focused on several shortcomings in liturgical practices of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, both in Ukraine and in the diaspora.

The third speaker of the morning session was Wolodymyr Stojko, professor emeritus of history at Manhattan College and long-time editor of The Ukrainian Quarterly. In his paper titled "Papal Image of Ukraine in Sermons and Statements during his Visitation of Ukraine, June 23-27, 2001," Dr. Stojko analyzed the impact of the pope's pilgrimage to Ukraine. In addition to providing a historical context, the speaker offered some revealing insights into the lasting, positive afteraffects of the event on life in Ukraine.

The final speaker of the morning session of the conference was Mark Thomas, adjunct professor of political science at George Mason University, who analyzed the pope as a political figure and the manner in which he influenced Soviet Russian policy in the second half of the 20th century. Speaking from a political-scientist's perspective, he drew much of his information from East Central European archives and KGB documents.

The second session was chaired by Jaroslav Zalipsky, chairman of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Shevchenko Scientific Society. Osip Roshka, editor-in-chief of the Philadelphia-based Ukrainian Catholic weekly America, offered an analysis titled "Papal Pronouncements on the Millennium of Ukraine's Christianity." He was followed by Roma Hayda, who represented Pax Romana, Catholic Movement for Intellectual and Cultural Affairs, USA, who examined the ecumenical thinking of Pope John Paul II and its impact on Ukraine. The final speaker of the panel was Mykola Haliv of the Ukrainian Patriarchal World Federation and long-time editor of the journal Patriarkhat, who presented an extensive biographical sketch of the late pope, with special emphasis on his activities on behalf of the Ukrainian people.

At the conclusion of the day's presentations, the conference organizer, Dr. Leonid Rudnytzky, presented each speaker with the commemorative album "Faith and Hope" published in 1997 by the St. Sophia Religious Association of Ukrainian Catholics on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the Union of Brest (1596). All who attended were presented with a poster of the late Patriarch Josyf Slipyj.

Dr. Rudnytzky also announced that the proceedings of the conference will be published in a separate volume as a Ukrainian "monument" to Pope John Paul II.

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