www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West Bishop Jerzy Mazur expelled from Russia

Catholic Bishop Jerzy Mazur expelled from Russia

Rome (Fides) � On Friday April 19, the Catholic Bishop of Saint Joseph�s diocese in Irkutsk (eastern Siberia), Polish born Mgr Jerzy Mazur was returning from Warsaw to Moscow to resume his episcopal duties in Siberia. At about 3pm, border police at Moscow�s Sheremietovo Two Airport took the Bishop�s passport and made him wait for an hour. When the secretary of the Holy See�s Representative to the Russian Federation, Father Tomasz Grysa, who was meeting Bishop Mazur at the airport, asked the reason for the delay, he was told by a border police official that Polish citizen Jerzy Mazur was on the list of persons no longer allowed to enter Russian Federation territory.

Immediate action was taken at various diplomatic levels by the Holy See Representative to the Russian Federation (RF), the Polish Embassy to the RF, and the Holy See�s Secretariat of State in Rome. In Rome the Secretary of State convoked RF Ambassador to the Holy See, Mr. Vitalij Litvin, who said he knew nothing of the incident. Hopes that the RF foreign minister, following an exchange of diplomatic communication, could influence the decision taken, were dashed. Without any explanation Bishop Mazur had his multi-entry visa, which had not expired, withdrawn and he was declared persona non grata. Diplomats say this is equivalent to being expelled from the country.

At 9pm Bishop Mazur boarded a return flight to Warsaw. This means that the Catholic diocese with the largest extension of territory in the world, has been denied its pastor. This can be considered a violation of the constitutional rights and the freedom of conscience of Russian Catholic citizens, as well as violation of international agreements guaranteeing the right to spiritual assistance.

On April 5 a similar measure was taken with regard to Father Stefano Caprio. The Italian cleric, who serves two Catholic parishes in Russia Vladimir and Ivanovo, had his multi-entry visa seized by border police control at the same Sheremietovo Two Airport without explanation and in an even more unorthodox manner (his passport was returned with the page simply torn out). That day, April 5, Father Caprio was leaving Moscow for Milan. Also in his case, protests made by the Italian Embassy to the Russian Federation and by the Vatican, were to no avail.

Expelling priests and bishops from the country causes serious de-stabilisation of the activities of Catholic structures in Russia. Most of the Catholic clergy and religious in Russia are foreigners sent here from more than twenty different countries to provide spiritual assistance to Russian Catholics deprived of their clergy in the period of atheism. The scarcity of Russian born Catholic priests is due to the fact that at the time of the Soviet Union all the Catholic seminaries in the USSR were closed down, a fact well known to the present day Russian authorities. (Fides 20/4/2002)

Dear Friends,

Let us pray for the conversion of Russia - to a Christian nation believing in charity and love of neighbors.

John
Pilgrim and Odd Duck

I think that the Russian governemnt is going to do the greatest disservice to the Russian Orthodox Church by these anti Catholic actions. People are going to see the state opennly persecuting in all manners the Catholic Church and they, already being suspicious and distrustful of the state, are seriously going to look into the Catholic faith as an alternative. The Orthodox Church in Russia has always played second fiddle to the state, whether it be Tsarist or Communist and this has lead to an cesaro papist relationship between the two. The state looks on the Church to support its goals and interest while the Church expects the state to take care of all "dissidents".
I really would be hasty to call Russia anything close to converted to any faith as of yet. Before the revolution, for instance, there were nearly 50,000 Orthodox parishes in Russia. Now, a decade after communisms fall, the number is still under 20,000. A lot of people therefore must still be away from Orthodoxy. The Church however has really from what I hear been poor on evangelizing from a grassroots level. THey merely expect everyone who is Russian will automatically belong to them by right of birth. THis old fashioned view of things will deffinatly put the church of Russia behind in any of its future conversion hopes.
However this anti Catholic persecutuin is really going to play bad for Russia in the world media. She claims freedom of religion but yet refuses to grant in to Catholics. People will find a way to convert to the Catholic Church if they want to, regardless if it is driven underground by the state and its Church. Noone can stop these as an inevidalbe fact of occurence. If Russia wants to avoid a massive amount of believers then she should quickly reunite with Rome so as to avoid what will be the inevidable.

Robert K.

The majority of Russians--of whatever religious tradition-- seem to have converted to a religion alien to Christianity: Consumerism! (Even if there still isn't a great deal, or the ability, to "consume.")

Welcome to the world of hard-core facts.

"There is nothing more stubborn than a fact."

Abdur

Most people are not concerned at all with the rights and freedoms of the Russian people, but only of their own rights and freedoms to do as they please. They think everything Western must be good and their model of society is universal.

The Russian people have an elected government who have decided to act on behalf of the people. They are doing their best to protect their country from all sorts of crack-pot religions imported from the sick West. Oh, tears roll down my cheak that the Mormons, JW's, and the Salvation Army are having their "rights" abused. As far as I'm concerned they have only one right in Russia, to leave.

Recent actions in Russian by the Vatican were done soley for the political value - to teach the Russians the cost of not cooperating.

Well, about as many tears roll down my cheek when I hear a Latin was booted out of Russia. Perhaps they could be better used to fill in the thining ranks in the West anyway.

Dear OOD,

How ecumenical of you to cry so much!

Can I send you some Kleenexes? Or would you like a handkerchief?

Orthodox bishops could be sent home from their Western European home bases, but democracy reigns supreme there, not an enduring dictatorship that continues to support the dominant Church as it did in Tsarist and Soviet times.

If the Orthodox Church in Russia is so insecure about its position, membership etc., then, by all means, use the state and its police resources.

Alex

[ 04-22-2002: Message edited by: Orthodox Catholic ]

OOD wrote:
"The Russian people have an elected government who have decided to act on behalf of the people. They are doing their best to protect their country from all sorts of crack-pot religions imported from the sick West."

Also, if the Russian people through its democaticly elected government has enacted a law, as they have, protecting freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, their authorities should respect it.

Please, don't loose your optic: This man is a Bishop trying to reach the flock entrusted to him, and for which he is responsible.

It doesn�t matter if we like the particular religion chosen by each Russian citizen, it doesn't matter whether we consider such religion apostolic, or even if that particular religion is Christian at all. The Russian people have taken their decision: Freedom of conscience.

We, Chistians, have to be a model of tolerance towards other Christians and non-Christians. But that doesn't mean we should't make other people about the difference

I hope you all are having a nice Great Fast or Pascha.

Dear Hector,

OOD is a very spiritual fellow.

And he hasn't said anything mean to me for several weeks

Our subtle approach seems to be working and I think he is mellowing out a bit . . .

Alex

Alex:

Sorry! I wasn't trying to be rude. I apologize to OOD if I sounded that way. I was only trying to make a point. It's just that sometimes I see things from a legalistic POV. Also, some comments sounded a little bit insensitive to the Catholic fellows in Russia, whose Bishop is Msgr. Mazur, who have been denied of the pastoral care of their Bishop.

I have the best impression of all the people here in the Forum. Even if I don't agree with some opinions, I acknowledge that you just express your ideas.

Dear Hector,

No problem. Actually, I wasn't really defending OOD .

Someone who is so much on the attack, as OOD is, has no need of defenders!

But he can be nice, if he wants to be!

Yours in Our Lady of Guadalupe,

Alex

Alex (and Hector),

I certainly appreciate your humor and thought of some humorous replies that I'm sure would have at least got you to smirk.

But then I thought, life is just to short and often finds people only getting serious at the end of it. I'll leave the humor for another time.

My above post was just an effort to bring light to an alternative view.

Yes, everyone has a God given right to believe as they wish. But might I suggest that Russia receives undeserved attention in so much as there are numerous pagan countries (ie. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan, and Iran) that administer the death penalty for converstion and should be the focus of any sincere appeal to human rights. So as soon as the worst offenders are dealt with I will not take your concern over Russia seriously.

Dear OOD,

Are you sure about Jordan? I'm aware of the others, but I didn't think Jordan could be numbered among them...

ME,

Frankly I'm not sure if you are murdered for conversion from Islam in Jordan. Strike Jordan for now.

et al,

This Russian website may help everyone aquire a Russian persepctive on the world.

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/index.htm

Aye yes, we sure do get a very "interesting" look inside Russian culture and the Russian spirit in general.

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/papainvasion.htm

THis spirit seems to be more a compination of nationalistic paranoia at times then anything else. It looks as if we Catholics will have to hold our breaths a little while longer for an Orthodox reunion with us.

Robert K.

Dear Orthodoxy or Death,

I am not sure I agree with you, that the denial of entrance to Bishop Jerzy, was a "defense" of the people. On the other hand, it does seem clear that the erection of the dioceses, was done without the approval of the government, which now sees fit to teach the Vatican a lesson, in the limits of its authority.

At one time, even with Catholic monarchs and Catholic countries, the Vatican acted more closely in consultation with the government of the place, and such governments even had significant say in the erection (or suppression) of dioceses, and the appointment of bishops. Perhaps by returning some of this traditional spirit of co-operation with the legitimate civil government of the place, all this might have been avoided?

Elias