PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — The Executive Board of the Society for the Patriarchal System in the Ukrainian Catholic Church, citing reliable sources, said that Ukrainian Catholic Bishops are in receipt of a letter from Paul Cardinal Philippe. Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Oriental Churches, warning them again not use the title of Patriarch for Josyf Cardinal Slipyj during services planned for the duration of the Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia next month.
As reported earlier, the Vatican has refused permission for Patriarch Josyf to travel to the City of Brotherly love for the Congress.
In the letter, said the Society, Cardinal Philippe, writing on the directives of Pope Paul VI, also warned the Ukrainian Bishops against convening «Ukrainian Synods» during the Eucharist Congress. Such synods can be held only on specific authorization of the Supreme Pontiff, said the letter.
The official title of Patriarch Josyf, said the document, is Archbishop-Major of Lviv for Ukrainians.
The letter concludes by reminding that «the Apostolic See expects the hierarchy of the Ukrainian Catholic Church not to accede to any kind of pressure in these matters.»
