O europejskiej tożsamości Ukrainy w doktrynie Jana Pawła II

Abstract

John Paul II was renowned for his considerable competence in the issues of Eastern Europe and the dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox faiths. To a large extent this followed from his biography. As a Slav among Latinists he had a completely different and much more direct outlook on those matters than his predecessors or Roman curial officers. He could understand the intricate relations between nations, denominations and cultures in this area. Therefore he devoted a considerable portion of his considerations to them. He also directed his attention to Ukraine. What was the most significant element in the reflection of John Paul II, former CardinalWojtyla, on the Ukraine, or – more broadly – on Eastern Slavs, was a strong emphasis on the European identity of Ukrainian nation and East-Slavic nations in general. The Polish Pope indicated that since its baptism in 988 the history of Kiev, Russia and its ‘spiritual’ inheritors form an integral part of the history of European civilization and culture. In his last book, published just before he died, the Pope analyzed the evangelization process of Eastern Slavs, including the present Ukrainians, and he stated without a shadow of doubt that “all that is a part of Europe’s history and to some extent shows the European nature itself.”