RUSSIA RELIGION NEWS


 


Proposed law makes churches "foreign agents"

ACCORDING TO DRAFT LAW WHICH RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT INTRODUCED TO STATE DUMA, RPTsMP MAY BE CALLED "FOREIGN AGENT"

Portal-credo.ru, 28 April 2015

 

The Russian government has worked out and introduced into the State Duma a draft law about religious organizations that receive foreign financing. In essence, such organizations, including the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow patriarchate [RPTsMP], will be equated with foreign agents: they await special inspections from the Ministry of Justice, "Politsovet" reports on 28 April. The document was developed by the Russian Ministry of Justice.

 

"The draft law proposes to differentiate the subjects of inspections of the activity of religious organizations, strengthening the right of the Russian Ministry of Justice and its territorial agencies to conduct inspections of the financial and economic activity of religious organizations in cases where they receive foreign financing and where their activity contains indications of extremism (terrorism) or other violations of the legislation of the Russian federation," the government reports.

 

"The draft law establishes the obligation of religious organizations who have received financial resources and other property from foreign and international organizations, foreign citizens, and persons without citizenship to present to the Ministry of Justice and its territorial agencies a formalized accounting of their activity, personal membership of administrative bodies, and information about foreign financing," the Russian cabinet of ministers adds.

 

In other words, religious organizations with foreign financing in essence will be subject to requirements that are established for foreign agents. They must regularly give account before the authorities about their activity.

 

The RPTsMP inevitably falls under the purview of the new law, since it has a large number of foreign parishes that receive foreign financing. In 2012, when the original law on foreign agents was introduced into the State Duma, religious organizations were specifically excluded from it, so that RPTsMP did not receive this dubious status. (tr. by PDS, posted 30 April 2015)


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