THE
P RTAL
November 2017
Ukrainian families being enrolled into
Diocesan Catholic Parishes. This struck
a chord, as one has heard the same
complaint from Ordinariate clergy.
Apart
from
misunderstanding
within the Church, delegates were also
concerned about the corrosive effect of
the totally secular society on members
of the Catholic Faith, especially the
young.
Page 22
Lonchyna. He told T he P ortal it is a
problem in their churches, “We have a
good number of young people in our
Cathedral, but of the whole number of
Ukrainian young people in London, it
is a small percentage.”
He continued, “Parents complain that
their children do not listen to them, or
go to church with them. This happens
even in well-educated families. Modern
means of communication are therefore
The Very Revd Father
Ukrainian traditions and practices Mykola Matwijiwskyj Chancellor most important. We have to meet the
are being lost and it appears that, but of the Eparchy of The Holy Family young people where they are, not where
for immigration, numbers would
we are.”
have fallen. As it is, the movement of
migrants from Easter Europe to the
With regard to proselytising, the
UK has actually increased Eastern Rite
Bishop said, “We accept everyone and
numbers.
anyone who wants to come to our
church. We do not force anyone to come.
Our friend Dr Caroline Farey gave a
Some come from different churches,
potent talk under the title “Catechesis
and want to remain such. But they come
– An Annunciation Pedagogy for
to our churches and we welcome them
Catechesis”. This produced some
as we do our own people”.
impassioned agreement from the Major
Archbishop, His Beatitude Sviatoslav
As part of the conference, Divine
Shevchuk.
Liturgy on the Saturday was celebrated
in Westminster Cathedral, and on
Father Mark Woodruff
Other topics covered were Mystagogy Society of St John Chrysostom
Sunday at the Holy Family Cathedral in
“The ecclesial edifice as a witness to
Mayfair.
the Mystagogy of the undivided Church” and “The
T he P ortal is most grateful to the Eastern Catholic
Liturgical Year and Mystagogy: Entering into the
Paschal Mystery”. A most interesting talk was given Bishops of Europe for this exclusive and privileged
by Jack Figel on “Catechesis in the 21st century”. He access to their meeting. Especially we thank Bishop
stressed the importance of digital communication, Hlib, the Chancellor of the Eparchy, and Myrosia
who facilitated our visit, as well as Fr Mark Woodruff,
especially with young people.
whose idea it was T he P ortal be in attendance. It has
This was a subject to take up with Bishop Hlib been a great privilege.
Using Smartphones and Tablets to aid prayer ... continued from page 17
encouraged by those within the episcopate. The youth
of today need to learn traditional values and teachings
but it is also clear they need to be approached in a
language they understand so encouraging the praying
of the daily offices on phone apps would certainly be
something positive.
device if liturgical apps are being used in an appropriate
manner and bringing people to God through prayer,
encouraging prayer and helping people to deepen
their spiritual lives and bring people closer to God
then surely that is a good thing?
We must remember that God is the source of all life
While smartphones can be seen as secular devices human and divine, all creation belongs to God and as
that can be used for improper purposes, the same such as a point directed towards those who agree with
could be said of a breviary - in all honestly if one really Cardinal Sarah I would say it is good that I and many
wanted to it would be quite easy to hurt someone others have graced our phones with the word of God
seriously by bashing a breviary over their head!
and put something sacred into something secular.
Prayer should be an important part of the daily life of
All issues in life including this debate, need to be a Catholic and in my opinion the use of a smartphone
examined in context, while smartphones are a secular app to aid prayer is not a bad thing.