Greek Catholic Church in Slovakia reorganized

Pope Benedict XVI decided yesterday (30 Jan 2008) to reorganize the structure of the Greek Catholic Church in Slovakia and made it a 'sui iuris' metropolitan Church.

Vatican: The Holy Father yesterday:

- Elevated the eparchy of Presov for Catholics of Byzantine rite to the status of metropolitan see and promoting Bishop Jan Babjak, SJ, of Presov to the office of metropolitan archbishop.

- Elevated the apostolic exarchate of Kosice for Catholics of Byzantine rite to the status of eparchy, made it a suffragan of the metropolitan Church of Presov, and appointed the current exarch, Bishop Milan Chautur, CSSR, to the office of eparchial bishop.

- Erected the eparchy of Bratislava for Catholics of Byzantine rite, made it a suffragan of the metropolitan Church of Presov, and appointing Fr Peter Rusnak, pastor of the Greek-Catholic parish of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Bratislava and proto-priest of the proto-presbyterate of the same name, as first bishop of the new eparchy.

Archbishop Jan Babjak, SJ, was born in Hazin nad Cirochou in 1953. He was ordained a priest in 1978, in 1987 secretly entered the Society of Jesus. In 1991-1993 he studied at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. Since 1994 he worked in the Slovakian section of the Vatican Radio. He was appointed bishop of Presov on 11 Dec 2002 and ordained by Pope John Paul II on 6 Jan 2003.

Bishop Milan Chautur, CSSR, was born in Snina in 1957. He entered the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer – Redemptorists in 1975 and in 1981 was ordained priest. On 11 Jan 1992 he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Presov and on 27 Jan 1996, the first apostolic exarch in Kosice.

Bishop Peter Rusnák was born in Humenne in 1950. In 1987 he was ordained priest and served as a spiritual in the Presov seminary, in 1995-1998 as a chancellor of the Presov eparchy and since he administered the parish of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Bratislava.