Proposals would tighten Russian restrictions on religion

Catholic World News ^ | 06/10/05

[murphE]

Jun. 10 (Forum 18/CWNews.com) - In what seems the most serious proposal in recent years to tighten up Russia's 1997 religion law, parliament's religion committee has begun to consider four draft amendments, the Forum 18 news service reports.

The proposed amendments would make it impossible for unregistered religious organizations to hold large meetings, and would allow only centralized religious organizations to invite foreign visits to participate in their work. "If we invite a priest to Moscow as the center of the diocese and he is to work in a completely different place, such as Kaliningrad, it will take a long time to explain to officials there why the invitation came from Moscow," Catholic Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz warned.

Aleksandr Verkhovsky, editor at Sova Centre in Moscow, complained of another "dangerous" amendment allowing all religious communities applying for registration to have their religious doctrines analyzed. "This is undesirable by its very nature in a secular society; a state should not determine which Islam (or Orthodoxy, Pentecostalism, and so on) is right and which is not," he remarked.

Forum 18 also reports, however, that observers are skeptical about the prospects for passages of the amendments being brought before parliament

[murphE]

ping

[Lion in Winter]

I just wish it wasn't so hard for a group of Christians in South Florida or North Florida( for that matter) to buy land on which to build a Church and a church school.

I keep my concerns local these days.... 'cause it affects me greatly here in Florida. And because of great concern to my friends at their church, which needs a much BIGGER place to hold services.

[vox_freedom]

It would definitely assist the situation in the world if Russia were to be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
tic, tic, tic.

[wagglebee]

Get ready to hear how Putin is Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Lincoln and Reagan all rolled into one.

[murphE]

Oh, don't be silly Vox, that was done, that's why all of Russia is converted now and the world is experiencing peace.

[NZerFromHK]

I'm counting the number of seconds before such voices descend on this thread. 5...4...3...2...

[NZerFromHK]

Ping!

[PetroniusMaximus]

*** if Russia were to be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary***

Can you tell me in plain English what that means? I know the historical roots of the phrase (Fatima an all) but have no idea what the phrase signifies.

[vox_freedom]

Can you tell me in plain English what that means?

Sure:

The Consecration of Russia

"I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart...If people attend to My requests, Russia will be converted and the world will have peace."

In the apparition of July 13th, Our Lady warned the three seers that if people did not stop offending God, He would punish the world "by means of war, hunger and persecution of the Church and of the Holy Father," using Russia as His "chosen instrument of chastisement." She told the children that "to prevent this, I shall come to ask for the Consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart" and promised that, by this single public act, Russia would be converted and peace would be given to the world. From:

The Consecration of Russia

[vox_freedom]

Oh, don't be silly Vox, that was done,...

Ha.
And Putin will renounce his presidency, call for free and open elections, and become a Benedictine Monk. Amazing!

[GarySpFc]

Putin is a Christian. There are several articles online supporting his conversion. Furthermore, my wife was a child psychologist and director of a school in Volzhsky. At Putin's direction she and several other directors wrote a curriculum for Bible education in the schools.

http://www.ctlibrary.com/8271

[vox_freedom]

Putin is a Christian.

So what is your reaction to the news in this article (above) and the adjuct information contained here:

Forum 18

And do you seriously believe things are getting better for religious freedom in Christian Putin's Russia?

[redgolum]

There was an earlier thread on this.

We had a missionary at church yesterday, who coordinates missions to places like Tanzania and Russia (kind of funny that there are more Lutherans in Tanzania than the US BTW).

I asked him about the new laws in Russia. He said that a lot of it is getting over blown. There is more red tape in Russia for religious groups, but they have never had any problems. I imagine that part of the reason is the policy of not going after Russian Orthodox believers, but focusing on unchurched groups or areas such as some Siberian towns that have been Lutheran for centuries.

The Russian Orthodox Church is very worried that some of these new groups are taking advantage of people, and they are right.

[jb6]

ping