VATICAN CITY, JUN 25, 2001 (VIS) - In the only public event scheduled for today, John Paul II, at 10 a.m. at the Chayka Airport, presided at the divine liturgy of St. John Chrysostom which was celebrated by Cardinal Lubomyr Husar in the Ukrainian Byzantine rite. The Pope gave a homily and, at the end of the liturgy, sprinkled with holy water the cornerstone of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic cathedral which will be built in Kiev, as well as those of other Church buildings.
In his homily, the Holy Father noted that today's reading from the Gospel of St. John "takes us back in mind and heart to the Upper Room. ... 'Ut unum sint' - that they may all be one! The Upper Room is the place of unity that is born of love. It is the place of mission: 'so that the world may believe'. There is no authentic evangelization without full fraternal communion."
"And it is also in the Upper Room," he continued, "on the day of Pentecost, that the disciples, together with Mary, Jesus' Mother, receive the Holy Spirit. ... From the gift of the Risen Christ is born the new humanity, the Church, in which communion overcomes the divisions and dispersion generated by the spirit of the world."
"'That they may all be one'," the Holy Father repeated. "This is the mystery of the Church willed by Christ. Unity founded on revealed Truth and on Love does not nullify man, his culture or his history; rather it makes him part of the communion of the Trinity, in which everything authentically human is enriched and strengthened. This is a mystery that is well represented also in this Liturgy, concelebrated by Catholic bishops and priests of the Eastern and Latin traditions. In the new humanity, ... there is a plurality of traditions, rites, canonical disciplines which, far from undermining the unity of the Body of Christ, on the contrary enrich it with the gifts brought by each one."
Addressing all members of the diverse rites in Ukraine, John Paul II said: "Your living side by side in charity should become a model of a unity that exists within a legitimate pluralism and has its guarantee in the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of Peter."
Then, on the topic of Ukrainians' re-won independence, Pope John Paul said that "for ten years your country has been a free and independent State. These ten years have shown that, despite the temptations linked to crime and corruption, its spiritual roots are strong. My heartfelt hope is that Ukraine will continue to draw strength from the ideals of personal, social and ecclesial morality, of service of the common good, of honesty and sacrifice, not forgetting the gift of the Ten Commandments. The dynamic quality of your country's faith and its Church's capacity for rebirth are surprising: the roots of its past have become a pledge of hope for the future."
"'Ut unum sint!'" the Pope concluded. "We wish to join in the prayer of the Lord for the unity of His disciples. It is a heartfelt appeal for the unity of Christians. It is an unceasing prayer, which rises from hearts that are humble and ready to feel, think and work generously so that Christ's desire may be fulfilled."
Following this morning's divine liturgy, Pope John Paul went to the apostolic nunciature for a private lunch.
At 5:45 p.m. he is scheduled to arrive at Kiev's Boryspil International Airport for a 6 p.m. departure for Lviv. The 470-kilometer flight is expected to take one and a quarter hours. No formal protocol ceremonies are planned for either the Kiev departure or the Pope's arrival in Lviv, although it is expected that both civil and ecclesiastical authorities will be present.
Vatican Information Service
25. juni 2001