May 16, 1980
His Beatitude Josef Cardinal Slipyi
Patriarch, Ukrainian Catholic Church
Dear Cardinal Slipyi:
I would like to join the entire Lehigh Valley Ukrainian-American Community in warmly and reverently wishing you a joyous and memorable 88th birthday, as well as a very happy celebration of the 40th anniversary of your becoming a bishop in the service of God.
Many have referred to you as «a living martyr of the 20th Century». This is indeed an appropriate description of one whose example of courage, faith and devotion is scarcely matched in our time.
During your years of trial and suffering for the Lord, you established a living testimony that men and women will remember long after we have passed from this earth. It is said that the faithful should not hide their light under a bushel, but let it so shine before men that they will see and take heart. Behind the dark gates of Siberian prisons, as well as the full light of public service to the Ukrainian Catholic Church, you have shown equal measures of steadfastness, love and devotion.
Eighteen years in a Soviet prison would be more than enough to break the will of any man. Only God can sustain on of his children through such a horror. Similarly, the responsibilities of being a member of the College of Cardinals and the Patriarch of the Ukrainian Catholic Church are surely heavy enough that only one who trusts in the guidance of the Almighty can bear them.
Once again, on behalf of all Ukrainian-Americans in the Lehigh Valley, I extend my deepest respect, and my most sincere best wishes for continued inspiration to those who view your faith and are sustained by it.
Многая літа!
Sincerely,
Don Ritter
Member of Congress
