Priests from Diocese help religious in substance-abuse programs as war in Ukraine rages

YURY TARNAVSKYJ

LONG BRANCH  As the Russian invasion of Ukraine rages on, a group of 16 priests continues to fight — and win — their own battles against alcoholism and drug addiction amid the stresses of war, thanks to ongoing virtual efforts by Transfiguration House, the only substance-abuse treatment program for priests and religious sisters in the beleaguered Eastern European nation.

Even before the war started on Feb. 24, these Eastern Rite Ukrainian Catholic priests have been receiving treatment by Zoom videoconferencing from Yury Tarnavskyj, administrator and program director of Transfig­uration House, which has ties to the Paterson Diocese. Temporarily “stuck” in the Garden State, he conducts sessions from Long Branch. Tarnavskyj and his staff, who are in the city of Lviv, Ukraine, help client priests and monks stay sober through the western Ukraine-based program, which started four years ago. They include three priests in the Paterson Diocese: Father Edward Reading, Father Charles Waller, and Benedictine Father Justin Dzikowicz — all friends of his.

“Zoom has been a good approach to helping these priests stay sober,” said Tarnavskyj, a certified alcohol and drug counselor in New Jersey, who previously lived and worked in the field here. Every day, he conducts treatment sessions, which include Alcoholics Anony­mous (AA) meetings with monks and priests. “Through the 12 steps of AA, these priests surrender to God, ready for him to help them. They begin to live a new life of faith,” he said

Among his friends, Father Reading, a diocesan priest serving outside the Diocese, has consulted for Transfigur­ation House. In addition, Father Waller, a retired priest and former director of Straight and Narrow, the Catholic Charities’ substance-abuse treatment agency in Paterson, shared his story of recovery with the clients on Zoom.

Benedictine Father Justin, former abbot of St. Paul Abbey in Newton, has given Tarnavskyj a perspective of treatment from a spiritual perspective, as well as his advice and support.

Transfiguration House, originally a residential program, is located in a former residence for novices of the Ukrainian Studite monks in the Lviv, Ukraine. Recently, 25 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in a training facility and the local airport was bombed — both on the outskirts of the city. Tarnavskyj started using Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic two years ago. A few Roman Catholic priests and nuns from around the Ukraine and around the world also join in Transfiguration House’s treatment sessions, he said.

When Tarnavskyj started to develop Transfiguration House in 2017, Father Reading, a N.J.­-licensed drug and alcohol counselor, gave him advice from both the clinical and religious aspects of treatment. A resident of Ortley Beach, the priest serves as chairman of the N.J. Drug and Alcohol Counselor Committee, which certifies and licenses addiction counselors — among other roles. In the Diocese, he serves as weekend assistant at Good Shepherd Parish, Andover, and as a board member of Catholic Charities.

Father Reading has conducted training sessions for Transfiguration House staff, translated from English to Ukrainian by Tarnavskyj. Previously, the priest spoke about integrating a holistic approach to treatment — mind, body, and spirit — and how to help clients forgive themselves and ask for forgiveness.

“It’s amazing that the priest-clients are surviving there and not relapsing, during this extreme situation,” Father Reading said. He noted that the Ukrainian concept of treatment differs with that of the United States because “the Europeans are therapist-centered, believing that the therapist knows what’s best for the client. In the U.S., we are client-centered, believing that the client can figure out what’s best. But that approach is changing,” he said.

Father Reading added, “During the Russian buildup, I told Yury to get out of Ukraine. I was concerned for his safety.” Tarnavskyj said he arrived in the U.S. for Christmas last year and plans to return to Ukraine in a few months, if the fighting subsides.

Tarnavskyj has known Father Reading since the 1990s, when he worked as a statewide trainer for the N.J. Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Father Reading also conducted a retreat for Transfiguration House clients in November on Zoom, he said.

“Father Reading has given me good ideas. He is so knowledgeable,” said Tarnavskyj, a Canadian, who speaks Ukrainian. Tarnavskyj said that Father Reading and Father Justin wrote letters of recommendation to the Synod of Ukraine Catholic Bishops in support of founding Transfiguration House. “They wrote about the need for the program, which made inroads with the bishops,” Tarnavskyj said.

In the 1990s, Tarnavskyj met Father Justin at a retreat at St. Paul’s Abbey, Newton, where the priest was speaking about addiction recovery and treatment. He called the priest “insightful, spiritual, and humble.” Over the years, “he has shared his experiences and wealth of knowledge about spiritualty for human growth and relating to God,” Tarnavskyj said.

Like Father Justin, Father Waller has conducted recovery retreats with the Matt Talbot Retreat Movement. Father Waller met Tarnavskyj through Father Reading. Last year, Father Waller conducted a Zoom session, sharing his story of addiction and recovery.

“It was a good experience to talk,” Father Waller said. “These priests in Ukraine are trying to fulfill their commitment to their ministry to stay sober. It can get complicated, when they are pushed to the wall [with a crisis, such as war], but that have their faithful and families to help them stay accountable. Transfiguration House’s efforts to help these priests stop drinking is a good thing,” he said.