CWN - All Catholic priests in the Crimea will be forced to leave by the end of 2014 under new rules established by the Russian government, the Forum 18 news service reports.
Since Russia assumed control of Crimea, authorities have enforced Russian laws that require religious communities to register for formal approval. To date, Forum 18 has found, no religious communities in the region have been registered.
Because only formally registered communities are allowed to have ministers from other countries, Catholic priests and religious from neighboring countries will be required to leave.
When questioned by Forum 18 about the difficulties these rules would cause for Catholic (and other) communities in Crimea, a Russian immigration official replied: “I don’t know. It’s not my problem.”
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