Russia s Expulsion of Bishop Assailed by Vatican: "Grave Violation" of Religious Rights

You can claim there is no connection, but if the Patriarch came out against it, it would stop. Have we heard from him on the expulsions?
Ok, so you admit then that the worst the church can be accused of is silence on the matter?

The Orthodox Church complains loudly about the formation of the Catholic dioceses. Then the Duma acts, mirroring the Bishops’ words. Another Bishop cries that Catholics are offensive, and urges Putin that they have their freedom to act restricted, and what happens? Our clergy and Bishops start getting expelled. No, that is not silence. Your church is speaking loud and clear, and its getting results.

The Russians have long been suspicious of churches controlled from foreign lands. Let's face it, if the Bishop were a Russian citizen, he wouldn't have needed a visa to enter the country.

Is this an excuse? When will your foreign born Bishops be returning to Russia? How loud would the Orthodox scream if the western nations started expelling foreign-born Orthodox Bishops? Would you then dismiss it saying “let’s face it, if the Bishop were an American citizen, he wouldn’t have needed a visa to enter the country.” How about Israel and its review of your Bishop, how has your Church reacted to that? How have you?

I’m sorry FormerLib. At the very time in the world that we should be working together to increase Christianity your Bishops attack Catholicism. I have great respect for the Orthodox Church, but I do not always respect all of its actions, any more than I respect everything my Bishops do. This one stinks.

patent +AMDG

The Orthodox Church complains loudly about the formation of the Catholic dioceses. Then the Duma acts, mirroring the Bishops? words.

What actions did the Duma take? I'll admit that I missed that one.

...what happens? Our clergy and Bishops start getting expelled.

Ok, I missed that one as well. Any links would be appreciated.

This story, however, has to do with the questions concerning Sakhalin Island and the Russian Foreign Ministry getting into a snit about the Roman Catholic Bishop raising the issue.

At the very time in the world that we should be working together to increase Christianity your Bishops attack Catholicism.

I'm afraid this will be pointless until you come to understand that the handful of Russian Bishops who have spoken on the subject believe they are responding to an attack (not that this should excuse the intemperate words that some have uttered).

The Orthodox Church complains loudly about the formation of the Catholic dioceses. Then the Duma acts, mirroring the Bishops? words.
What actions did the Duma take? I'll admit that I missed that one.

The article above gives a short summary. I’ve read more but I have to apologize, I’m not all that free to re-research it today.

...what happens? Our clergy and Bishops start getting expelled.
Ok, I missed that one as well. Any links would be appreciated.
This story, however, has to do with the questions concerning Sakhalin Island and the Russian Foreign Ministry getting into a snit about the Roman Catholic Bishop raising the issue.

The article that starts this thread mentions one Bishop and one priest who were expelled. Bishop Mazur and Father Caprio. There are other news items that go into greater detail, esp. on Father Caprio as that expulsion happened a couple days earlier. There is also Father Jozef Opiela, who was booted. I’ll give you a news item on that, which also mentions a Catholic Church construction that was halted after an Orthodox Bishop SPOKE on the subject, complaining that Catholics were enemies of the Russian people. Your Bishops are speaking loud and clear:

VATICAN PROTESTS "GRAVE" RUSSIAN VISA WITHDRAWAL VATICAN, (CWNews.com) -- The Holy See has announced that the Russian government's revocation of a Catholic priest's visa is a "grave action," and a blow to friendly relations.
Father Stefano Caprio, an Italian priest who served in two parishes near Moscow-- and also wrote occasional reports for the Fides news service-- had his visa revoked when he left Russia for a trip back to Italy earlier this month. He was identified as a "persona non grata," and accused of espionage.
"This is the second time in less than a year that such an action was taken against the Catholic Church in Russia," observed on Vatican official. Father Jozef Opiela, a Polish native, was unable to secure a visa, although he was serving as secretary to the Russian bishops' conference.
Another Vatican official, scoffing at the notion that Father Caprio is a spy, said that the Russian government's action "recalls the regrettable practices of the Soviet era."
In a related development, Moscow's Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz expressed concerns about a possible rash of anti-Catholic actions in Russia. Speaking to the Italian daily Avvenire, the archbishop pointed to the halt in construction work on a Catholic church in the town of Pskov, west of Moscow.
The building project was halted after a protest by the local Orthodox bishop, who spoke of Catholics as "enemies of the Russian people." Archbishop Kondrusiewicz said that the decision to halt construction was "a very dangerous precedent."

Dominus Vobiscum

patent +AMDG

Ok, now I understand why I didn't know what you were referring to when you mentioned the Duma taking action. It appears they've passed something similar to one of those useless non-binding resolutions that our Congress favors when they want to make a statement but avoid any political fallout.

From another story about the incident:

Mazur, who was assigned to head one the newly created dioceses, raised the ire of the Foreign Ministry again by using the Japanese name of Karafuto Prefecture to identify the region encompassing the southern part of Sakhalin Island and the disputed Southern Kuril Islands. Russia seized the islands from Japan at the end of World War II.
The Foreign Ministry said in February that it considered the use of the Japanese name to be "an unfriendly act and an interference in the internal affairs of Russia."

Now, this is the sort of thing that really drives the Russians nuts. And sort of challenge to any of their Eastern borders and they get nasty very quickly. Remember the brief shooting war with China along the Ussuri River in '69? Yeah, nasty.

I don't know if there was any intentional provocation with the naming of that Prefecture or not, but you can bet the Russians will treat it as such.

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