Annual Report. PATRIARCHAL CURIA UGCC 2019

26 For the first time in history, the UGCC Synod of Bishops has issued an important document regard- ing safeguarding and protecting children, those with disabilities and vulnerable people from various incidents of violence . The Synod announced a strengthening of measures to prevent sexual violence in the Church and expressed a readiness and willingness to listen and provide spiritual support to all. The Synodal Pastoral letter states: "With this synodal message, we affirm the desire of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church throughout the world to progress to the next stage of understanding, healing, and preventing all forms of violence against human dignity in the church environment and in the com- munity at large, 'working not for the sake of appearances, to please men, but as Christ’s servants, who fulfill the will of God from the heart.' (Ephesians 6:6)." Among the most important Decisions of the Synod of Bishops 2019 are the following: To create a Synodal group for the development of a UGCC pastoral strategy until 2030 with the following members: Metropolitan Borys Gudziak, Metropolitan Eugeniusz Popowycz, Bishops David Motiuk, Ken Nowakowski, Teodor Martyniuk, Daniel Kozlinsky, Bohdan Dzyurakh; The Synodal Fathers expressed gratitude to the members of the Working Group of the Vibrant Parish Program since their mandate has ended and they will pass their work to the Pastoral Council headed by Bishop Ken Nowakowski. To call upon the clergy, religious and laity in their daily church life and ministry to fos- ter a culture of mutual support and relations with one another, including the active use of contemporary means of social communication; To develop solidarity and the exchange of gifts between parishes and eparchies of Ukraine and throughout the world for the purpose of mutual relations, ministry and wit- ness; To support lay movements that desire to build up the unity of the Church, her particular character and patriarchal structure; To establish on the occasion of the feast of St. Andrew the First-called a Day of Church- wide Prayer for the Father and Head of the UGCC and for special situations in our Church; To develop and implement an eparchial pastoral plan; To facilitate the domicile presence of pastors in the territory of the parish; To create, where this has not been done, an eparchial pastoral council (see CCEO, can. 272-275) with the involvement of an active and responsible laity; To create, where this has not been done, an eparchial council for religious communities active in the territory of the Eparchy for fostering and strengthening deeper communion with religious life communities; To convoke Eparchial Assemblies (sobors) in order to develop a deeper consciousness and promote common action on the eparchial level. UGCC Synod of Bi shops