This speech was broadcast on the Ukrainian show "Kontakt" last week. If someone more talented wants to translate the content, please do. It is worth a watch and I sincerely hope some good will come of all this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u18oYYQ4I...&playnext=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfWG2dQfASo&feature=related

Accountability from whom? And for what?

Okay, here is the situation:
At the bishop's levee this year, the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Brotherhood Ihor Klufas was scheduled to read his greeting. Someone must have gotten wind of the content of this greeting and Mr. Klufas was physically escorted out of the building by two men before he was able to read his speech.
Mr. Klufas went on the Ukrainian language news show "Kontakt" the next week and broadcast his speech on television.
The speech is respectful but raises some points which, in Mr. Klufas' opinion, need to be addressed.
He talks about financial transparency for the eparchy. The eparchy is required by law to provide financial statements upon request. The chancery has been unable to do this for at least two years.
He talks about accessibility to the bishop. Parish councils have encountered various difficulties when trying to approach the bishop with their needs and concerns.
He mentions the need for an "honourable opposition" within the church made up of laymen who have authority to challenge the authorities.
He speaks of "russian trained" priests that bring questionable decision making into the workings of the eparchy.

The last two points I definitely have a problem with. The Church is NOT a democracy and it is unfair to apply modern parliamentary ideas to the way the Church functions. His emphasis on the Russian trained priests is also worrying because it lumps all these guys into one group. I know many priests who were trained at the Leningrad Theological Academy, both Orthodox and Catholic, and most of them are really nice guys. It is unfair to paint them all with the same brush and I doubt highly that they have dubious motives.

Things like this have the ability to cause lots of gossip and hearsay. Let's think about these things rationally and pray for God's guidance. These things are never pleasant and if there is anything that can be learned from the OCA's troubles over the last decade, it is that the internet and social media are powerful tools when it comes to accountability.

ig

With regard to financial matters, bishops traditionally had to answer to the Cathedral Chapter, a committee of clerics and laymen who had to approve all spending related to the diocese in general, and the cathedral specifically (lots of medieval cathedrals have very impressive chapter houses attached). Vatican II apparently changed the manner in which this worked, by removing the Chapter and making the bishop a corporation sole--basically making the "American system" universal--with predictably bad results.