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Transcarpathia Greek Catholic Bishop Named “Activist of 2005”

17.02.2006, [17:10] // Catholic //

Transcarpathia – Bishop Milan Sasik, apostolic administrator of the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo, has been named “Civic Activist of 2005” in southwestern Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region. ua-reporter.com posted the news on 14 February 2006.

Bishop Sasik is a citizen of Slovakia who has worked in Rome, South America, and the Papal Nunciature in Kyiv. He assumed his present office three years ago.

Bishop Sasik said he believes that much has been done, but there are still many problems to be solved. Among them is the impossibility of starting a dialog with the Orthodox church. Only in a few cases have compromises been reached in “hot spots” on the religious map of Transcarpathia.

“The Greek Catholic Church, which dominated in Transcarpathia before World War II, was persecuted by the Soviet regime,” said Bishop Sasik. “Only one-third of our churches were returned, and that is what leads to disputes. People have no place to pray. This is why the number of conflicts is high. Greek Catholic communities are constructing new churches, avoiding violence. If we acted the way we are treated, we would have a war. In the last 15 years 90 new churches and chapels were constructed, which already hold Liturgies. There are now 60 more churches being constructed. If we take into consideration that we have 370 communities and that nearly 100 churches were returned, it means we still lack 100 churches.”

Source:

• http://www.ua-reporter.com/news/15571/