I hope never to find myself in the midst of such an inflammatory situation; but if it were to happen, I hope that I could have the courage to provide an opportunity for people to look at their disputes in the light of the sanctity of the human family.

My thoughts turn to a time, nearly 30 years ago, when I lived in a Ukrainian house in Rome. This was for a few months, while I was on a waiting list for the residence for American diocesan priests studying in the city. The Pontifical College St. Josaphat was the residence for seminarians and priests of the Ukrainian Catholic Church — one of the Eastern Churches of Catholicism, which testify along with the “Western” Latin Church to the true catholicity or universality of the People of God.

St. Josaphat, whose memorial is Nov. 12, was born in 1580 of Orthodox parents but embraced the Catholic Church and, as a bishop, worked in Ukraine for the unity of Eastern and Western Christianity. He was martyred in 1623 in the midst of that work. Those who live at this place named after St. Josaphat can go up to the roof of the building to gaze upon the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica.

These were Soviet times and those living and studying at the college were not native Ukrainians; rather, they represented a “diaspora”: they were the sons of emigrants from Ukraine who had settled in various parts of the world.

As I recall, every continent except Africa was represented among the students; I believe the Asian representative was from Iraq. After 30 years, my main memories of my time at St. Josaphat’s are these: Our afternoon volleyball games; an amazing 12-course meal on Christmas Eve; and discussions about a newly prominent figure on the world stage by the name of Gorbachev.

I regret an attitude of mine at the time. I was caught up in a sense of my identity as a Latin Catholic, so much so that I did not consider it necessary to attend my hosts’ liturgies. When I consider all the religious diversity I have experienced since then, I know that I would have gained from familiarizing myself with Eastern liturgy.

We see priests in the streets of Kiev and Simferopol, and we reflect that, even as interethnic tensions are being indulged, the ethnic and national groups identify themselves as Christian. Meanwhile we consider the continuing split between Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. We recognize how closely related we are, and we yearn for the realization of St. Josaphat’s dream: that Christians might live the unity Jesus intends for us.