Cardinal Bychok: “Being in communion with Rome is something completely natural”.”

In the College of Cardinals, seniority is usually the norm, but Ukrainian Redemptorist Mykola Bychok broke all the rules when he was created a cardinal by Pope Francis. Now 46 years old, he remains the youngest cardinal in the world and continues to shepherd Byzantine Rite Catholics in the heart of Australia from Melbourne.

To understand its mission, it is necessary to look at the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the largest of the 23 Eastern Churches in communion with the Holy See. This institution, juridically defined as a Church, is a sui iuris, has an autonomous hierarchy headed by Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk. 

In a world marked by haste and noise, what can the Latin Church learn from the spirituality of silence, repetition and theological depth characteristic of the Eastern rites?

-As you know, last year the entire Catholic Church celebrated the Jubilee Year of Hope. As part of these celebrations, the Jubilee of the Eastern Catholic Churches took place in Rome in May 2025. In his address to the participants in this Jubilee, Pope Leo XIV echoed the words of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who stressed that the Eastern Catholic Churches preserve unique traditions of spirituality and wisdom and can teach us much about Christian life, synodality and liturgy. At the same time, His Holiness also recalled Pope Leo XIII, who was the first to dedicate a specific document to the dignity of the Eastern Churches within the Catholic Church.

The Pope highlighted the invaluable contribution of Eastern spirituality to the universal Church. In particular, he said: “We have a great need to recover the sense of mystery that remains alive in your liturgies, liturgies that involve the whole human person, that sing of the beauty of salvation and evoke a sense of awe at how God's majesty embraces our human frailty. It is equally important to rediscover, especially in the Christian West, the sense of the primacy of God, the importance of mystagogy and the values so typical of Eastern spirituality.”. He called for the preservation of these traditions.

I believe that the Latin Church and the Eastern Churches enrich each other precisely through these complementary emphases. Both East and West share the same mission: to bring people to Christ. And in a restless world, every authentic path that helps the human heart to rediscover God is a gift for the whole Church.

In your pastoral experience, how do the Eastern Catholic faithful live in communion with Rome while maintaining their liturgical and cultural identity?

-For the faithful of our Church, being in communion with Rome is something completely natural. In fact, only a few decades ago, many of our faithful suffered persecution and were sent to forced labor in Siberia precisely because of their commitment to this communion. In many of the trials of that time, one of the accusations was that they “listened to Vatican radio.” Our Church suffered much for this unity, and continues to value and defend it to this day.

Recently, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, together with the bishops of the Permanent Synod, visited Brazil. The Permanent Synod meets four times a year, and these meetings are held each time in different parts of the world, wherever our faithful reside. For example, in December, the Patriarch and the Synod were in Australia.

In Brazil, our Church has a metropolitan structure, which includes two eparchies. Ukrainians first arrived there more than 140 years ago and, to this day, their descendants - more than 150,000 faithful - although some no longer speak Ukrainian and only speak Portuguese, continue to feel a strong sense of belonging to the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian Church. They make significant efforts to cultivate Ukrainian traditions, learn the Ukrainian language and preserve a Ukrainian culture. It is precisely because of their dedication and faithfulness that our Church continues to thrive in Brazil.

Many Eastern Churches have suffered persecution, wars or diasporas. How has this experience of suffering marked their theology, liturgy and Christian witness?

–Yes, you are right. Many Eastern Churches have suffered wars and persecutions throughout their history. Our Church in Ukraine has lived the same, under war conditions for more than twelve years since 2014 and, since 2022, in the midst of a full-scale war. Our churches in the eastern part of Ukraine have been destroyed, and two of my fellow Redemptorist priests were held captive in Russia for over a year. Every day, our people face extraordinary trials. Last winter was especially harsh, as the enemy deliberately attacked the energy infrastructure, literally trying to leave our people in the cold.

However, Ukraine stands, Ukraine fights and Ukraine prays. Our clergy stand with our faithful in these difficult circumstances. Chaplains support our soldiers at the front, while priests in the rear provide spiritual care during rehabilitation and humanitarian assistance to those in need. We constantly seek ways to heal the wounds of war, not only physical, but also spiritual and psychological.

I believe that, despite all the difficulties and oppression, our Churches are a shining example of living faith in Almighty God, demonstrating that it is possible to preserve faith and traditions even in extremely difficult circumstances. As the Scripture says: “With men it is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God.”.

What other historical examples could be cited?

-For example, in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, after the pseudo-Sbor of Lviv in 1946, 80 years ago, when our bishops, priests and faithful were arrested and deported to Siberia, and when the Church in Ukraine was strictly forbidden and effectively forced to operate underground, our clergy and faithful who were in various parts of the world after World War II did their best to preserve and develop the Church in their new places of residence.

In Australia, for example, the first Ukrainians began to emigrate in 1948 and immediately made efforts to maintain their spiritual life. Officially, August 13, 1949 is considered the date when Father Pavlo Smal first celebrated the Holy Liturgy in Australia, in a chapel near St. Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne. In 1950, Father Ivan Prasko volunteered to go to Australia. As a priest, he served the Ukrainian faithful in Melbourne, Victoria and Tasmania for eight years, during which time he founded numerous church communities, contributed to the building of churches, organized Ukrainian Saturday schools and established various church and community associations. On October 19, 1958, Father Ivan Prasko was ordained a bishop by Metropolitan Maksym Hermaniuk, Archbishop Ivan Buchko and Bishop Isidore Boretsky. Immediately afterwards, he became the head of the Apostolic Exarchate for Ukrainians in Australia, New Zealand and Oceania, established on May 10, 1958 by Pope Pius XII.

The same dedication was observed in other countries where our faithful settled. Consequently, after the Church came out of hiding in Ukraine, the structures and experience of the Diaspora contributed greatly to the restoration of the Church in Ukraine. Therefore, I believe that, with God's help, the Eastern Catholic Churches will endure these upheavals and, through them, the faith of our people will be strengthened.

How would you encourage Latin Rite Catholics to learn about the Eastern Rites?

-I can share what the situation is like in Australia, for example. Australia is a country made up of many immigrants who constitute the backbone of the Catholic Church in the country. There are five Eastern Churches in Australia: Ukrainian, Syro-Malabar, Melkite, Maronite and Chaldean, which bring their deep culture and strong faith in Christ. We are all members of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference, which brings together all the Catholic bishops of Australia twice a year. 

Our Church and especially our liturgy are very exciting for young Australians. To give one example, in Sydney a choir of English-speaking Australian Catholics has been formed in our church to sing Vespers on Saturday and Divine Liturgy on Sunday, which is a living example of our mutual enrichment. With fervent faith and divine worship, as a Ukrainian Catholic Church here in Australia, we can truly challenge secularization and be a clear sign of the Lord's presence.

Now there are also many Ukrainians in Spain, Eastern Catholic faithful, who have come here in large numbers, especially in search of refuge after the outbreak of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. Our Church always strives to be present wherever its faithful are, in order to provide them with adequate spiritual support. This gives them a wonderful opportunity to experience our spirituality. They are welcome to attend the Divine Liturgy or any other religious service. I believe that for all of us, having the opportunity to learn about each other's traditions and pray together is a great gift.

In ecumenical dialogue, especially with the Orthodox Churches, what role do the Eastern Catholic Rites play as a bridge for encounter and mutual understanding?

-The Eastern Catholic Churches often find themselves in a unique and sometimes delicate position. We share the same liturgical, theological and spiritual heritage with the Orthodox Churches and, at the same time, we are in full communion with the Bishop of Rome. Therefore, we understand both the sensitivities and the hopes that exist in ecumenical dialogue.

Our role is not to create tension, but to witness that communion with Rome does not require abandoning Eastern identity, spirituality or tradition. Our very existence testifies that unity and fidelity to one's heritage are not contradictory realities.

Ecumenical dialogue is not limited to theological commissions and official documents. It is also about encounters, prayer and personal relationships. When we share the same liturgical language, a similar spirituality and often a common history of suffering, there is already a basis for deeper understanding.

I believe that the Eastern Catholic Churches can serve as a bridge promoting respect, patience and humility. We carry historical wounds, but we also carry hope. By remaining faithful to our tradition and living in communion with Rome, we can help demonstrate that the unity Christ prayed for is not uniformity, but communion in truth and love.

There are currently five cardinal electors of the Eastern Rite. What is your perception as the youngest cardinal in the world and what surprised you about the conclave? 

There are currently 245 cardinals in the world, of whom 122 are electors and 123 are non-electors. Among them are seven Eastern Catholic cardinals, of whom five are electors and two are non-electors. This means that, in terms of total number, the Eastern Catholic cardinals represent only a small group within the College of Cardinals.

In fact, being the youngest among the cardinals was an experience I could hardly have imagined two years ago. This experience is important not only for me personally, but, I believe, for the whole Church. 

I truly felt a strong sense of brotherhood at the conclave. Being part of this process carries with it a great responsibility, not only in the election of the next Pope, but also in helping to shape the future of the Catholic Church, which today has 1.4 billion faithful. This decision affects not only bishops and priests, but the entire People of God. 

During the conclave, there were many emotions, and on two occasions I felt what people call “goose bumps”. The first time was in St. Paul's Chapel, from where we went in procession to the Sistine Chapel. When the choir began to sing and the procession got underway, I felt that goose bumps. And I thought to myself: what is going to happen in a few minutes? We are about to enter the Sistine Chapel, to stand under the scene of the Last Judgment painted by the famous Michelangelo, the doors will close and we will elect the successor of the Apostle Peter. That was the first deeply emotional moment for me. The second time was after the election had already taken place. We were waiting before going out onto the balcony, and then came the moment of the announcement of the new Holy Father and the name he had chosen: Leo XIV. It was something really incredible. 

What does the tradition of the Eastern Catholic rites contribute to the spiritual life of the universal Church that may not always be understood in the West? 

-I think the best answer to this question are the Pope's words at the meeting with representatives of the Meeting of Organizations of Aid to the Eastern Churches (ROACO), which took place on June 26, 2025 at the Vatican. The Pope emphasized that today Eastern Catholics are no longer “distant relatives”, but who, due to forced migration, live in close proximity to Western Catholics. He appealed to the Council representatives to discover the beauty of God's people in the Eastern tradition, who show resilience in the midst of the many sufferings caused by war, and to look to those who “are not only the people of God, but also the people of God in the East.“join the great ranks of martyrs and saints of the Christian East”, thus becoming witnesses to the “the light of the East in the night of conflict”.

The Pope pointed out that there is still great ignorance and lack of knowledge about the Eastern Catholic Churches and that the wish of St. John Paul II - who said that the Church must learn to breathe again with two lungs, the Eastern and the Western - has not yet been fulfilled. He also spoke of concrete measures to remedy this situation, such as starting to organize basic courses on the Eastern Churches in seminaries, theological faculties and Catholic university centers, and organizing joint meetings and pastoral events. For me, these words are a sign that the Church, like no other, is striving to deepen this unity and that, at the initiative of Pope Leo XIV, this will be achieved.