Catholics ‘outside the law’ as they fail to meet Russian rules

The Catholic bishop in Russian-occupied Crimea has welcomed the local government’s extension of a deadline for re-registering Catholic communities there, but warned they are still unlikely to meet the conditions required under Russian law, writes Jonathan Luxmoore.

“Our Church wishes to go on providing pastoral care for its faithful,” said Mgr Jacek Pyl, an auxiliary in Odessa-Simferopol. “However, our documentation, drawn up according to Justice Ministry instructions, hasn’t been accepted.”

He said the Church’s eight parishes had failed to meet the requirement of having a Russian parish council chairman and at least 10 Russian citizens on the parish’s electoral roll. “If at least three parishes were registered, we could then apply to open a pastoral district,” Bishop Pyl said. “But we have, unfortunately, only a single priest with a Russian passport, so this looks impossible.”