Cardinal Husar Joins 10,000 Youth in Kiev

KIEV, Ukraine, AUG. 26, 2007 (Zenit.org).- A society can rest assured of the future of the Church when its youth are alive with faith, according to the major archbishop of Kiev-Halych of the Ukrainians.

Cardinal Lubomyr Husar made this remark during a youth conference titled "Youth, Church, Ukraine," held this month in Kiev, which drew 10,000 young people from Poland and Russia, Kazakhstan, the United States, Canada and Argentina, Aid to the Church in Need reported.

It was organized by the Greek-Catholic Church of Ukraine, which belongs to the group of Byzantine-rite Churches that recognize the spiritual authority and jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome.

In his homily, Cardinal Husar called the youth conference a "feast of faith," which had shown the city of Kiev and all Ukraine that "young people with faith" were "a guarantee of the future of the Church in the country."

He called the young people to a life of active charity: "What matters is not who I am, but how much good I have done. Good deeds are the criterion according to which the Lord will judge my life."

Father Rostislav Penjuk, one of the event's organizers, emphasized that young people are capable of great things and that all that was needed is to constantly encourage them and to support them in this desire.

The Ukrainian Catholic Church has proclaimed 2007 the "Year of Youth."

ZE07082603 - 2007-08-26