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In the name of truth, the whole truth

The essence of the ongoing confrontation between the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Pope (along with Prefects of several Congregations of the Roman Curia) who abide by the Pope’s rulings) can be spotlighted by what was quoted and what was omitted from a Decree of Vatican Council II in the homily presented by Pope John Paul II at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in Philadelphia on October 4, 1979.

This is what the Pope quoted from para. 5 of the Decree on Eastern Catholic Churches, the first two sentences:

History, tradition, and numerous ecclesiastical institutions clearly manifest how much the Universal Church is indebted to the Eastern Churches. Thus, this Sacred Synod not only honors this ecclesiastical and spiritual heritage with merited esteem and rightful praise but also unhesitatingly looks upon it as the heritage of Christ’s Universal Church:

This is what the Pope omitted from the same paragraph, the next and the last two sentences:

For this reason, it (the Sacred Council) solemnly declares that the Churches of the East, as much as those of the West, fully enjoy the right and are in duty bound to rule themselves. Each should do so according to its proper and individual procedures, inasmuch as practices sanctioned by a noble antiquity harmonize better with the customs of the faithful and are seen as more likely to foster the good of souls.

The Pope used the tactic of quoting out of context and giving a half-truth. To quote only the first part of that Decree #5 is to completely obliterate the command given to the Vatican and the purpose of this particular Decree. This unforgivable omission was meant to shroud the Pope’s continued abuse of the rights of the Eastern Catholic Churches, in particular, the Ukrainian Catholic Church. The abuses and the excuses continue. This is the essence of the conflict between the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Vatican.

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