This is an excerpt from an op-ed I co-authored with Colby Barrett, producer of A Faith Under Siege, that appeared in Real Clear Religion and The Christian Post. Please go to one of those publications for the full story.
Ukrainian Catholics have their problems too. The Russian Orthodox Church doesn't want competition. When a fellow Catholic told me that Ukraine wasn't worth supporting due to its corruption, I reminded him of how John Paul II tried for years to open a seminary in Moscow, but was blocked by the Russian Orthodox Church - working hand-in-glove with the Russian government. I also reminded him of how Ukrainian Catholics are free to practice their faith in Ukraine, at least for now. Lastly, we have the example of Walter Ciszek, a Jesuit priest and American citizen from eastern Pennsylvania. He managed to get into Russia during WWII, but was picked up by the Soviet military police and imprisoned for 23 years, including a 15 year stretch in the Gulag at hard labor. But he never stopped ministering to his fellow inmates. He returned to the USA in 1963 and died in 1984.
Ukrainian Catholics have their problems too. The Russian Orthodox Church doesn't want competition. When a fellow Catholic told me that Ukraine wasn't worth supporting due to its corruption, I reminded him of how John Paul II tried for years to open a seminary in Moscow, but was blocked by the Russian Orthodox Church - working hand-in-glove with the Russian government. I also reminded him of how Ukrainian Catholics are free to practice their faith in Ukraine, at least for now. Lastly, we have the example of Walter Ciszek, a Jesuit priest and American citizen from eastern Pennsylvania. He managed to get into Russia during WWII, but was picked up by the Soviet military police and imprisoned for 23 years, including a 15 year stretch in the Gulag at hard labor. But he never stopped ministering to his fellow inmates. He returned to the USA in 1963 and died in 1984.