The head of Russian Catholics, Metropolitan Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, issued an open declaration protesting against "the organized campaign" that, in his opinion, is being conducted against the Catholic church in Russia.
The metropolitan's statement, that was delivered to Interfax, notes that "actions that have been undertaken in the last few months against the Catholic church not only are directed against citizens of the Russian federation of the Catholic confession but they also crudely violate existing Russian legislation" that guarantees freedom of conscience.
Metropolitan Kondrusiewicz regrets that "state and social structures that are called to monitor observance of legislation are not giving sufficient attention (to these incidents), which are fraught with interreligious and interethnic conflicts." He said "numerous demonstrations, including in front of Catholic churches, with slogans that are offensive to Catholics, have also been met with silence. The next such action, planned for 28 April, will have a Russia-wide character."
"Meanwhile," Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz notes, "the federal law 'On freedom of conscience and religious associations' says explicitly that 'the conduct of public events and distribution of materials and images that offend the religious feelings of citizens in the vicinity of objects of religious veneration are prohibited."
The metropolitan's concern also has been provoked by the recent confiscation, without explanation of reasons, at the Sheremetevo-2 airport of the multi-entry visa for Russia of the priest Stefano Caprio, a citizen of Italy, against whom, as Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz writes, "organs of authority have made no claims during the course of twelve years of ministry in Russia."
The head of Russian Catholics also is alarmed by the draft law on traditional religious associations that is now being discussed, which, in the archbishop's opinion, "in the event of its adoption will lead to division in society and violation of constitutional standards on the equality of all religious associations before the law."
Considering that "these and similar incidents are now difficult to explain as simple coincidences," Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz draws the conclusion that "an organized campaign is being conducted against the Catholic church." In this regard he has appealed to Russian governmental offices, to the Russian and international public, and especially to organizations of rights' advocates with a call "to do everything possible for defense of religious freedom and elimination of all forms of discrimination on this basis." (tr. by PDS, posted 15 April 2002)
FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE UNDER THREAT IN RUSSIA
Declaration of Metropolitan Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz
Svet Evangeliia,
21 April 2002
Events of the recent past affecting the situation of the Catholic church in Russia force one to consider the serious danger hanging over freedom of conscience in our country.
On one hand, the constitution of the Russian federation (art. 28) and the federal law "On freedom of conscience and religious associations (art. 3, pt. 1) guarantee citizens of Russia freedom of religious confession.
On the other hand, actions taken in recent months against the Catholic church have not only been directed against citizens of the Russian federation of the Catholic religious confession but also crudely violate existing Russian legislation. Unfortunately, state and public structures that are called to see to its observance have not devoted the necessary attention to these things that are fraught with interreligious and interethnic conflicts.
"Do not allow Catholics free activity in our country. . . . Do not harm our people with a Catholic presence," the Pskov diocesan council and its archbishop, Evsevy of Pskov and Veliko luchi appealed to the president of RF, Vladimir Putin, opposing the construction of a Catholic church in Pskov. To our amazement, this appeal still has not evoked any reaction by agencies of authority, in particular the prosecutor’s office.
Numerous demonstrations, including outside Catholic churches, with slogans that are offensive for Catholics, have also been met with silence. The next such demonstration, scheduled for 28 April, will have an all-Russian character. Meanwhile, the federal law "On freedom of conscience and religious associations" explicitly says that "conducting public events and the posting of texts and images that are offensive to the religious feelings of citizens near places of religious devotion are prohibited" (art. 3, pt. 6)
A profound feeling of wrong is evoked by the rescinding of a multi-entry visa for the RF at the "Sheremetevo-2" airport, without explanation of the reasons, from the priest Stefano Caprio, an Italian citizen who over the course of twelve years of ministry in Russia was never accused of anything by the agencies of government. And Russian citizens, Catholics, have been left without spiritual nurture.
Alarm is also evoked by the draft law on traditional religious associations that is now being discussed and which, in the event of its adoption, would lead to division in society and violation of the constitutional standard of the equality of all religious associations before the law (Constitution, art. 14. Pt. 2)
These and similar events are difficult to explain as simple coincidence. This all lead to the thought that an organized campaign is being conducted against the Catholic church. Such a development of events can lead to unforeseeable consequences.
As chairman of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Russia, in accord with my responsibility, I express a decisive protest in connecting with the violations of the constitutional rights of Russian Catholics to freedom of religious confession, at the foundation of which lies the dignity of the human individual.
With a feeling of serious anxiety I appeal to the agencies of state authority of the Russian federation, to the Russian and international community, and especially to human rights organizations to do everything possible for protecting religious freedom and prevention of any forms of discrimination on this basis.
With the hope of being heard,
Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz
Metropolitan in Moscow,
Chairman of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Russia
Moscow, 15 April 2002
(tr. by PDS, posted 19 July 2002)
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Catholics have been permitted to continue construction of the parish house in Pskov, the "Pskov Information Agency" reports. Specialists of the Chief Directorate of Construction, Architecture, and Communal Living of the province conducted an expert study of a part of the design documentation for construction of the Catholic church in Pskov. The documents were presented to Pskov specialists by the Roman Catholic parish of the Holy Trinity. As a result of the examination, the parish was permitted to continue work on construction of an annex to the church, the parish house and communications facility.
Now specialists of the directorate are continuing to study the design to assure conformity to required engineering standards. Work on constructing the Catholic church in the provincial capital was halted at the beginning of April because of the absence of all required settlements and design documentation, Regions.ru reports. (tr. by PDS, posted 15 April 2002)
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The reasons for confiscation the Russian visa of the Catholic priest, Stefano Caprio, who is the rector of parishes in Vladimir and Ivanovo, have still not been clarified. Recently the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MID) of Russia presented an explanation to Vatican representatives in Moscow. But in the diplomats' official declaration there was nothing specific. MID reported only that "making such a decision is the sovereign right of every state." Officials of the Department of Consulate Service of MID give assurances that all actions conform completely with the law "On entry and exit from the Russian federation" of 1996, in which the possibility of denial of visa without explanation of reasons is provided for.
The only news for representatives of the Holy See in Moscow was the formulation of the refusal: Stefano Caprio is denied entry into Russia in connection with his activity "that is incompatible with the status of a priest." It should be clarified that what the Russian authorities have managed to identify as "incompatible" in the actions or conduct of Father Stefano is not explained. The press secretary of the Federal Border Service of RF, Sergei Ivanchenko, refused to inform Russian Catholics what the priest is guilty of, explaining that "a state has the right to decide who can enter the country and who cannot." It is noteworthy that Stefano Caprio worked in Russia for a period of twelve years and previously has regularly extended his visa.
The representation of the Holy See in Russia categorically denies the claim that Fr Stefano Caprio has engaged in activity in our country that is prohibited by Russian legislation. "This is completely absurd and it reminds one of the sad practice of the soviet period," the representation of the Vatican in Moscow claims. At the same time, workers of the diplomatic mission personally vouch for Fr Stefano, saying that all of his activity has been confined to work in the parish of the Sacred Rosary and teaching in the Russian State Humanities University. Russian Catholics are sure that the reason for the incident has nothing to do with Fr Stefano but with the hostile position of the Russian Orthodox church and its influence upon state employees. As is known, State Duma deputies a month ago appealed to workers at MID requesting confiscation of the visas of all foreign Catholic priests. (tr. by PDS, posted 15 April 2002)
SACRED VISA. RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES DEPRIVE CATHOLIC PRIEST OF HIS WORK
by Kirill Vasilenko
Vremia novostei, 10 Ap[ril 2002
The militant tone of the Russian Orthodox church with regard to Catholic has been taken up by representatives of secular structures, too. Several days ago at the Sheremetevo-2 international airport, border patrol workers confiscated the visa of the rector of the Catholic parishes in Vladimir and Ivanovo, Stefano Caprio. "When Father Stefano went through passport control, his document was demanded by the senior officer," a Vrema novostei reporter was told by the press attache of the Catholic mission in Russia, Victor Hrool. "After several minutes the passport was returned with a stamp permitting exit from the country. Only upon leaving the airport in Milan did Fr Stefano discover the absence of the one-year multi-entry visa; the document had simply been unglued from the page of the passport." The consul general of the Russian federation in Milan, Evgeny Smirnov, quickly informed the priest that he was denied entry into Russia for a period of twelve months. Only after that period of time does Fr Stefano have the right to submit documents for obtaining a new visa. However the consul did not rule out that the period of denial of entry could be extended. Mr. Smirnov refused to explain the reasons for this decision and he said also that he does not consider it necessary to give a written answer to the petition for restoring the visa.
"Problems in getting visas for ministers of the church happen periodically," Victor Hrool explains. "Priests who have worked for years in Russian parishes still have to get a visa every three months; they won't give one for a longer period. To get this, it is necessary to leave Russia once every quarter. But such a blatant incident as happened with Fr Stefano has never taken place." It is noteworthy that the incident of confiscation of the Catholic priest's visa coincides with the recent declaration by State Duma deputies who called workers of MID to confiscate visas of all preachers from the Vatican.
At the Roman Catholic curia in Moscow it was reported that Father Stefano has worked around twelve years in Russia. In that time he has managed to maintain good relations with both local Orthodox bishops and secular authorities. The pastor has never been accused of failure to observe Russian laws or with performing activity forbidden by legislation of the Russian federation. Why now he has been deprived of the right of entry into the country, the priest does not know. Stefano Caprio is awaited in Russia by parishioners of Vladimir and Ivanovo as well as by students of the St. Thomas Aquinas College and the Russian State Humanities University, where the priest teaches.
Moreover, recently Catholics have faced not only problems with visas. Last week in Pskov the construction of a Catholic church was halted. The occasion for this step was a letter from Orthodox Archbishop Evsevy of Pskov and Velikoluksk to the head of the administration of Pskov province, Evgeny Mikhailov, in which the bishop called for doing everything possible "so as not to allow the triumph on the sacred Pskov land of the destroyers of our motherland and people, the pope of Rome and Catholicism, which is harmful for the Russian people." That the authorities had satisfied the request was declared on 8 April by the head of the Chief Directorate of Construction, Architecture, and Communal Living for Pskov province, Vladimir Moiseev.
Besides, Orthodox activists have promised to conduct demonstrations against "spiritual expansion of Catholicism" in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Saratov, Samara, Kazan, Tver, Mikhachkala, Yakutsk, Blagoveshchensk, and Vladivostok. As organizers of the events from the "Union of Orthodox Citizens" declare, the public "is not demanding that the state decrease or infringe in any way the rights of Russian Catholics," but it only insists on effective support for the Russian church and protection of the rights of the Orthodox majority. (tr. by PDS, posted 15 April 2002)
RUSSIAN PRESS SEES VISA CANCELLATION AS A SNUB AT ROME
Orthodox Bishop Asks Putin to Block a Catholic Church in Pskov
Zenit.org, 12 April 2002
The Russian press has criticized the decision by its own government to cancel the visa of an Italian priest.
The newspaper Vremya Novosti said that the only reason to impede the Italian priest_s return to Russia from a visit home was "to slight the Pope."
Izvestia gave broad coverage to the statements of Catholic representatives in Russia, emphasizing that Father Stefano Caprio "was solely concerned with pastoral and didactic activities."
A priest of the Moscow Patriarchate criticized the anti-Catholic bias.
Father Georgij Cistjalkov, director of the Research Center on Religion and Religious Literature of the Russian National Library, and a member of the Academy of Sciences, told the Italian newspaper Avvenire: "We must maintain fraternal relations with Catholics in Russia because they represent a minority here that is respected and has moral authority."
In a note published Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry explained that the visa was denied the Italian priest because he was involved "in activities that were incompatible with the status of the Ministry of Worship," but the text does not specify the activities.
In Pskov, a city of some 200,000 inhabitants near the Estonian border, a Catholic parish priest, Father Krysztof Karolewsky had obtained permission to build a new church. Work began in March, but a month later, specifically on April 3, Valerij Polupanov, head of Communal Technical Services, told the priest that the work had to be suspended.
Just a few days before, Orthodox Bishop Evsejiv sent a letter of protest against the construction of the church, to President Vladimir Putin and regional governor Evgenij Mikhajlov.
The message was harsh, going so far as to request that "everything possible be done not to allow the triumph in the holy land of Pskov of the destroyers of our homeland and our people -- the Pope of Rome, and Catholicism, enemy of the Russian people."
Catholic Metropolitan Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz reacted to these words with great concern.
"It is a very dangerous precedent," he said. "If it is not carefully studied and evaluated, a wave of anti-Catholic manifestation may be unleashed throughout Russia, whose consequences are impossible to foresee." (posted 15 April 2002)
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On 5 April 2002 His Holiness Patriarch Maxim and the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox church sent a letter to Pope John Paul II in which the decision of the Vatican regarding the creation of Roman Catholic dioceses and a church province in Russia was condemned. Such action on the part of the Vatican, the document says, inhibit the establishment of a spirit of mutual understanding, mutual respect, and a search for ways to achieve Christian rapprochement.
In his letter to His Holiness Patriarch Alexis of Moscow and all-Rus, His Holiness Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria noted the importance and significance of joint efforts in opposing Catholic expansion, and he expressed support for the Russian Orthodox church in protecting the interests of Orthodoxy from the proselytizing tendencies of the Vatican. (tr. by PDS, posted 12 April 2002)
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The Evangelism Department of the Ekaterinburg diocese conducted a sociological investigation among residents of the Urals capital. The occasion for this was the upcoming performance by the singer Boris Moiseev, whom Pravoslavnaia gazeta of Ekaterinburg, where the results of this study were published, caustically called a "preacher of nontraditional unfamilial relations." The task which has been taken up by the local Orthodox clergy that is concerned about the "blatant toleration by society of open propaganda of evil" is to ascertain the attitudes of citizens to the work of the "nontraditional" performer and to the cancellation of his performances.
The results of the survey, according to the newspaper, turned out to be somewhat more shocking than could have been predicted. Of all residents of Ekaterinburg of various ages questioned on the street (the survey included more than 1000 passersby), 19% of men and 32% of women expressed interest in Moiseev's works, while 64% of men and 48% of women were indifferent. Only 17% of men and 19% of women were upset. The fact of his performances in Ekaterinburg was viewed positively by 36% of men and 40% of women, while 51 and 43 percent respectively were indifferent. Only 12% of men and 15% of women viewed the performances negatively.
Yet more interesting is the reaction to the possibility of banning Moiseev's performances in Ekaterinburg. Such a prohibition was viewed categorically negatively by 48% of men and 46% of women, while 36% of men and 31% of women were indifferent. The idea was received positively by only 15% of men and 16% of women. Pravoslavnaia gazeta notes with profound sorrow that the results of the survey show that "in contemporary Ekaterinburg society there is an absence of a solid concept of morality and ethics and demonstrate a growing indifference to manifestations of homesexuals, not only on the part of men but--what is more depressing--on the part of women, who consent easily to the loss of the image of a man in their own consciousness."
The reason for such a decline in public morality in Ekaterinburg diocese can be assessed almost mathematically. "Institutions of traditional values in the area of morality," the newspaper notes, "are quite few. These are, first of all, traditional religious organizations whose influence upon society is directly proportional to the square footage of worship facilities where parishioners can be accommodated." Then the authors of the article propose comparing the "quantity of night clubs in the city with the number of Orthodox churches." Such a comparison is called by the newspaper (apologizing to the readers) "blasphemous," but it continues with the rhetorical exclamation: "Aren't the results of the upbringing revealed by our survey no less blasphemous?"
Among other reasons facilitating the decline in public morality in the city, Pravoslavnaia gazeta names the "increasing development of occultism," primarily in the sphere of education. The writers of the article are especially unhappy with values education, "whose ideas erase the concept and boundaries of any kind of values."
In Ekaterinburg, according to the newspaper's information, there are about fifty occultic sects and hundreds of occultic teachers "who attract audiences of thousands." An extreme danger for public morality is posed, in the opinion of the diocesan publication, "by the pseudopsychologist N. Koslov, the founder of a network of 'Sinton' clubs, for whom any perversion is permissible so long as it provides satisfaction."
Also singled out by the newspaper are the local "worshippers of Marx and Ilich" who are the grandmothers and grandfathers of the current worshippers of Boris Moiseev and the "glorious communist past with its lack of justification of morality within atheist doctrine."
Thus the scheduled performances of Boris Moiseev gave Pravoslavnaia gazeta the occasion for contemplating many serious matters and, in addition, for complaining that city and provincial authorities have not found the opportunity "to allot the grounds for construction of churches and to return to the church the buildings confiscated from the church public." Evidently the authors of the article wish to believe that if the overall area of these buildings exceeds the square footage of premises for all manner of hotbeds of vice, then surveys connected with the arrival of preachers of "nontraditional song" would give completely different results. (tr. by PDS, posted 12 April 2002)
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The chairman of the Committee of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Council of Europe, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Antanas Valionic, declared on Thursday to reporters in Tbilisi that he possesses information about restrictions of representatives of several religious minorities in Georgia.
"The Georgian authorities must find appropriate means for resolving this problem," A. Valionic said. In his turn, Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Iraklii Menagarishvili noted that "it is impossible to cover up several instances of religious intolerance in Georgia that have acquired the character of extremist manifestations." The minister considers that the leadership of the country will manage to resolve this problem.
Religious fanatics in Tbilisi, headed by excommunicated priest Vasily Mkalavishvili, have persecuted members of the Jehovah's Witnesses sect over the course of the past few years. Frequent cases of beating of members of this sect, pogroms of their congresses, and burning of their literature have been proven. The case on the indictment of Mkalavishvili for harassing representatives of religious minorities is being heard in Tbilisi district court, Interfax reports. (tr. by PDS, posted 12 April 2002)
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A Roman Catholic priest who has lived in Russia for 12 years has been placed on the Foreign Ministry's list of personae non gratae and banned from the country.
Father Stefano Caprio, an Italian national, had his visa surreptitiously removed from his passport when leaving Moscow last Friday to fly to Milan to visit relatives.
A passport control officer at Sheremetyevo Airport took Caprio's passport, gave it to the chief officer and then returned it to the unsuspecting priest with a stamp allowing him leave Russia, the Catholic news service Cathnews.com reported Monday.
When he arrived in Milan, Caprio noticed that the multi-entry Russian visa that had been glued to one of the pages in his passport was missing. He then applied to the Russian Consulate in Milan on Monday for a new visa but was denied and given no explanation for the denial.
Caprio could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Yevgeny Smirnov, a consul with the Russian Consulate in Milan, confirmed that Caprio had been denied a visa Monday.
"He received a multi-entry visa last July and applied yesterday to renew it. We checked with the list of parties for whom access to Russia is closed, his name was on it and he was denied," Smirnov said Tuesday by telephone from Milan.
Smirnov said he did not know why Caprio was blacklisted. Although consulate employees normally do not give explanations for visa denial, the usual reason is state security concern. Other reasons allowed by law include a criminal record or refusal to provide an HIV test certificate.
Smirnov said his office gets a regularly updated list of personae non gratae from the Foreign Ministry's consular service department.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman in Moscow who refused to give his name said that decisions on visa denial were not made by his office but by "law enforcement agencies." He refused to elaborate on Caprio's case.
A spokesman for Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, head of the Roman Catholic Church in European Russia, said the archbishop was still trying to get clarification from Russian officials.
"No one understands what the denial is linked with. Father Stefano has never had any problems with getting a visa before," the spokesman said.
Caprio, who graduated from the Vatican's Eastern College, has lived in Russia since 1990. He speaks perfect Russian and taught theology in Moscow at the Thomas of Aquinas College and Russian State Humanitarian University.
He initiated the restoration of a Catholic church in Vladimir in 1992 and was named the cathedral's prior in 1993. Later he also became a prior at the Resurrection Cathedral in Ivanovo. The parishes have a combined congregation of 500.
It is the first publicized case of a Catholic priest being denied a visa in post-Soviet Russia and comes amid new tension between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Vatican. On Feb. 11, the Vatican upgraded its four apostolic administrations in Russia into full-fledged dioceses united in an ecclesiastical province under Archbishop Kondrusiewicz.
The Moscow Patriarchate responded by saying the decision was a "challenge" to Orthodoxy and accused the Vatican of trying to poach Orthodox believers.
Kondrusiewicz said the Vatican was simply restoring structures that existed in Russia before the 1917 Revolution and giving "confidence" to Russian Catholics, who hope to welcome the pope one day on Russian soil.
Kondrusiewicz said there are 600,000 Roman Catholics in Russia and 212 registered Roman Catholic congregations.
Last year, several foreigners connected with nongovernmental organizations, some linked with protecting the environment or promoting democracy, others active in Chechnya, were denied visas.
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A conference and presentation, "Catholicism in world history and culture," were held at the Russian State Humanities University (RGGU), coinciding with the release of the first volume of the Catholic encyclopedia in the Russian language.
The honored guests, who included Argentine Archbishop Jorge Maria Mejia, archivist and librarian of the Holy Roman Church, the rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University, P. Franco Imoda, and the chairman of the Pontifical Committee of Historical Sciences, Mons. Walter Brandmuller, cordially thanked the leadership of RGGU for giving them the possibility to share their thoughts and views with Russian scholars and students freely and democratically. (The delegation's visit came at the same time as the unprecedented anti-Catholic demarche by the Russian Orthodox church.)
Speaking for the guests, Metropolitan Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz expressed profound and sincere gratitude to Rector Yu. N. Afanasiev and his colleagues for the unique opportunity to present the Catholic encyclopedia within the walls of a famous Russian institution of higher learning and expressed the hope that RGGU would maintain the tradition of the best Russian universities in the future, which preserved science and culture, including Christian culture, in the years of soviet state atheism.
It should be noted that the conference and presentation of the Catholic encyclopedia in no way affected the career of Afanasiev. He was again elected rector of RGGU and in the course of the next few years will be occupied with a very important task--teaching young people to be free. (tr. by PDS, posted 8 April 2002)
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On Friday Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasianov signed an order regarding the new membership of the Commission on Religious Matters of the government of Russia, according to the Department of Government Information.
The commission is headed by Deputy Prime Minister Valentina Matvienko. It includes Minister Vladimir Zorin (vice chairman of the commission) and Andrei Sebentsov, the plenipotentiary representative of the government in the Federation Council. Also on the commission are the head of the Department for Work with Public and Religious Organizations of the apparatus of the presidential representative in the Central Federal District, M. Belogubova, the head of the Administration of Properties of Scientific, Cultural, Educational, and Health Organizations, A. Varnachev, Director of the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, V. Volkov, Deputy Minister of Education L. Grebnev, the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Affairs of Public Associations and Religious Organizations, V. Zorkaltsev, and other representatives of government agencies and public organizations. (tr. by PDS, posted 5 April 2002)
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Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow and all-Rus is concerned about the possibility of the liquidation of the duma Committee on Affairs of Public Associations and Religious Organizations. "I have learned with sorrow about the proposal of a number of deputies to abolish the State Duma Committee on Affairs of Public Associations and Religious Organizations as a part of the reorganization process," the patriarch writes in an appeal to the leaders of a number of State Duma deputies' associations. He notes that "extremely fruitful and constructive relations have developed" between the Russian Orthodox church and this committee.
The letter emphasizes that the committee "has conducted a lot of work on improving legislation in the sphere of state-church relations in Russia" and by its efforts "many acute problems of interconfessional and interreligious relations have been smoothed out, including international ones."
At the same time, the patriarch stresses, "the interests of religious organizations have been successfully defended in the development of various aspects of law." "I am profoundly convinced that these spheres of activity demand a substantial amount of specialized knowledge and daily attention to the legislative process in the most diverse areas, as well as constant, systematic contact with representatives of religious associations," he says in the letter. In the event of the liquidation of the committee, he notes, "all of this will become difficult to achieve." The patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus asks that his opinions be given careful attention in determining the fate of the committee, "Interfax" reports. (tr. by PDS, posted 5 April 2002)
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Apparently the Putin regime has decided to submit to the fundamentalist clerical lobby. Day before yesterday the construction of a Catholic church in Pskov was forbidden; the building, which was almost completed and slated for occupancy by the end of the year, now faces uncertainty. The prohibition followed the script of the first years of bolshevism: "in accordance with the request of the laboring masses." The role of informant this time was performed by fundamentalist-minded adherents of the Russian Orthodox church (RPTs): they drew up two denunciations of their Christian brothers from a neighboring confession. And they did not follow the religious line but went directly to President Putin and the head of the administration of Pskov province, Evgeny Mikhailov. ("Novye isvestiia" already reported this on 28 March).
The letter from RPTs Archbishop Evsevy of Pskov and a group of clergy he leads abounds not only in ungrammatical language. (For example, the policy of the Vatican is characterized thus: "This is a manifestation of expansion of our territory by the Catholic presence.") The majority of constructions are of a different form, inciting interreligious conflict and promoting real religious and national exclusivity: "People whom our ancestors opposed," Evsevy writes to Putin, "are operating freely without opposition in the Russian land. . . . Catholics are not benefactors. . . . They have not brought anything that is good and beneficial to a single nation. Wherever they go, disruption, division, and oppression appear. And no matter what glorious clothing they don, their works are those of darkness."
The Orthodox writers clearly identify the reason for the Catholic presence in Russia: "Nowadays we have outright chaos in Russia. Taking advantage of democratic laws . . . our country has been invaded. . . ," and so forth. It should be recalled that recently the leadership of RPTs and deputies of the State Duma who support its isolationist position (like Chuev) have advanced the concept of the "spiritual security" of Russia. It has called for continuing the work of the "Petrine Cheka" in the religious sphere for strengthening "vertical authority" and implementing the doctrine of "informational security." The RPTs bishop does not simply ask the secular authority to fix these very "democratic laws" and to restore order to the country; he proposes acting against the heterodox by those some military methods by which "Alexander Nevsky defeated the knight-dogs." He raises the alarm: "Catholics have already planned new divisions and rebellions for us. . . . Say No to free activity for Catholics in our country. . . . Do not harm our people with the Catholic presence." He ends with an extremely specific request: "We earnestly ask . . . for your intervention in preventing the construction . . . of the Catholic church (the word is misspelled) in the historic part of Pskov."
Instead of evoking suspicion of the violation of a particular article of the Criminal Code of the Russian federation (incitement of national strive and promoting national and religious exclusivity--article 282), this letter to the president apparently fell on good soil, which had been carefully prepared by Putin's spiritual advisor, the ultra-rightist Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov. At least, the Pskov provincial administration actually prohibited finishing the building of the Catholic church on the day before yesterday. Despite the fact that three days previously, on 29 March, the Chief Directorate of Construction, Architecture, and Communal Residences of the Pskov provincial adminstration had issued a positive expert conclusion (No. 140-1) on the architectural design of the Catholic church, by 2 April the Bureau of State Experts of the same directorate demanded that the parish also "gain approval of the design from the Chief Directorate for Civil Defense and Emergencies" (you wonder, who is supposed to deal with heterodox believers in our country?) and, more important, that "results of public discussion of the construction of the Catholic church be submitted." It is not difficult to imagine which public will discuss this and in what kind of tone; evidently the 20s and 30s have not been forgotten in Pskov.
But apparently this seemed of little importance to the attentive officials of Pskov; perhaps there was pressure applied on them by the presidential administration where the letter of the good Christian Evsevy made the rounds. The next day, 3 April, the Inspection of State Architectural Supervision of Pslov province issued an order (No. 11) to the Trinity parish of the Catholic church: "Construction of the building is being conducted without a permit. . . . Construction of the building must stop." Believers were threatened with administrative liability. Of course, the rector of the Trinity parish and the architect who designed the church sent their objections to the administration (it seems, "a survey of the population was conducted before construction began," etc.) but that did not concern anybody.
The Pskov precedent of struggle against believers (for now, not all believers, but only with "misguided" ones) has developed according to a smooth script: as in the case of NTV-TV6, the issue supposedly is not about politics, ideology or other lofty matters. The dirty work will again be done by the hands of "managers" who are completely removed from politics. If it is discovered that the cornice of the church being built is three centimeters wider than construction code permits, then the church will be prohibited or torn down in complete conformity with the law or it will be turned over to an oligarch named by the Kremlin. In that event it will not be to Potanin, nor Jordan, and certainly not to Kokh, but probably to Ridiger (Patriarch Alexis of Moscow and all-Rus, the head of RPTs).
One should not forget that at the beginning of the twentieth century bolsheviks also did not begin their antireligious persecutions right away. At first, they fought only against counterrevolutionary "Tikhonites," while they protected the "renovationists" by all means. Never the less, this culminated in the liquidation of all believers as a class. Therefore even the Putin "raid" on democratic freedoms, which now after the victory in the area of "informational security" has passed over into the sphere of "spiritual security," is not likely to be limited to the unfortunate Catholics only. According to rumors, in Moscow the Ingriia Lutheran (!) church has already been denied occupancy of a small building under the pretext of the "complications of Orthodox-Catholic relations."
One can only hope that the conflict with the Vatican will damage Putin's liberal foreign policy image more substantially than the breakup of oppositional television. (tr. by PDS, posted 5 April 2002)
CONSTRUCTION OF CATHOLIC CHURCH IN PSKOV HALTED
Mir religii, 5
April 2002
The construction of a Catholic church in Pskov was halted, according to a report by Cathnews.ru. On 3 March at 11:45, a representative of the Inspectorate of State Architecture and Construction Supervision of Pskov province arrived at the construction site and demanded that construction work cease.
Only after several hours did the rector of the Catholic parish in Pskov, Fr Kshishtof Karolevsky, receive the official order signed by the head of the inspectorate, Valery Polupanov, in which "construction is declared halted as of 3 April 2002."
At the end of last week, the Bureau of State Expertise of Construction and Architecture of the administration of Pskov province issued a positive expert conclusion regarding the design of construction of the Catholic church and recommended its approval. In the conclusion, all documents presented to the expert commission were listed, attesting that the design was in conformity in all respects. Among them was the order of the city administration regarding lease of the parcel of land under construction, the minutes of the city construction council, notes of the session of the scientific and methodological council for preservation and use of monuments of history and culture, etc. The expert conclusion was confirmed by the head of the bureau, M. Seliantsev.
However, three days afterward this same M. Seliantsev signed a document stating the necessity of a second review of the design "with the participation of all interested organizations and persons."
It is curious that the greatest interest in the construction of the Catholic church was shown in recent weeks by Archbishop Evsevy of Pskov and Velikoluksk, who even sent special letters to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the head of the administration of Pskov province, Evgeny Mikhailov. "Say No to free activity of Catholics in our country!" the Orthodox bishop writes to the president. "Russia has no need for a Catholic mission! Do not harm our people with a Catholic presence!" Archbishop Evsevy called the head of the administration of Pskov province, Evgeny Mikhailov, to intervene in order to prevent the construction of a "grandiose Catholic church." He asks that everything possible be done "so as not to allow the destroyers of our motherland and people--the pope of Rome and Catholicism, which is hostile to the Russian people--to triumph in the Holy Pskov land."
The head of Russian Catholics, Metropolitan Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, expressed
serious concern about this incident and called attention to a strange coincidence:
the halting of the construction of the church came about after Archbishop
Evsevy appealed to the authorities. "This is a very dangerous precedent,"
Metfopolitan Kondrusiewicz stressed. "If it is not carefully investigated
and given proper assessment, then throughout all of Russia a wave of anti-Catholic
actions could break out, whose consequences it is impossible to predict."
(tr. by PDS, posted 5 April 2002)
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