Disputes Over Some 3,000 Greek Catholic Churches in Ukraine Hinder Pope-Patriarch Meeting

Disputes over parishes in Ukraine are the principal stumbling block preventing a meeting between Pope Benedict and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, according to Archbishop Hilarion, who leads the Moscow Patriarchate's department for external church relations.

"We are not interested in the protocol meeting and shaking hands in front of the television cameras," said Archbishop Hilarion. "We strongly disagree with the measures which saw the return of churches to Greek Catholics with no respect for the interests of Orthodox believers in Western Ukraine."

Following World War II in 1945, the Stalin regime dissolved the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, imprisoning all its bishops, 1,400 priests, and 800 nuns, and former Catholic parishes were used by the Orthodox Church, according to the Byzantine Catholic website.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union and Communism in 1991, these churches were returned to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and there are now 2,939 Greek Catholic parishes in Ukraine.