Save the temple

Dnipropetrovsk – The local Roman Catholic congregation fears a corporate raid on St. Joseph’ Church that was returned to the faithful last year. The church lawsuit lasted for over a decade after the regional council illegally sold it to the Panamanian company during Lazarenko’s term in power. After a number of resales the church was purchased by the Californian company Dugsbery Inc. There is some talk that the disgraced ex-Prime Minister was behind it. Pope John Paul II and the Polish President Aleksandr Kwasniewski asked to return the church to the believers.

Despite the promises of Dnipropetrovsk officials, the situation did not change for a long time until the Roman Catholics turned to then President Viktor Yushchenko. As a result, Dnipropetrovsk Governor Viktor Bondar took up the case. The regional state administration lawyers managed to convince the courts that the believers, who were striving for a return of the religious building, were right. Finally, in summer 2009, the Catholics of the St. Joseph parish could enter the tumbledown church on the central avenue of Dnipropetrovsk.

But their joy did not last long. The change of government encouraged former owners to go back on the offense. According to the press secretary of the congregation Denys Davydov, recently the Catholics learned that they could not register the church as real property in the local bureau of the technical inventory. They were informed that the church was arrested according to the Luhansk court ruling, but the congregation did not even know about the place and time of this event. That is why the believers cannot legalize their right to the church or even start repairs. Meanwhile, the former owners dismantled the roof under the disguise of a complete overhaul a few years ago. Not only the unique frescos, which are 130-year-old, are under the threat of destruction but also the very frame of the building suffers from the sun in the summer and the snow in the winter. But now, according to the parish press secretary, the church is under yet a more horrible threat. A lawsuit is being prepared in Donetsk, which the overseas company hopes to win. The case is complicated by the fact that the supporters of the ex-Premier still hold influential posts in the Dnipropetrovsk local government. Together with Party of Regions allies, they are a majority in the local and regional councils. And one cannot disregard the pressure of the opponents of the congregation act. According to Davydov, there were several threats to the believers and promises to take away the church. The situation aggravated to such extent that in order to avoid a corporate raid the Roman Catholics decided to close access to the church and hold services near the building. They turned to the current Dnipropetrovsk Governor Oleksandr Vilkul for defense and also to the police and the prosecutor’s office. Davydov said, “In due course Governor Bondar’s position was a great help for us, he took a stand for us. We hope that the current governor will do the same thing. Our weapons are prayer and solidarity.”