MOSCOW, Aug 9, 02 (KESTON/CWNews.com) - Another Catholic priest has had his visa revoked by the Russian government, and Protestant clerics are also facing similar problems, the Keston News Service has reported.
Father Stanislav Krajnak, a Slovak native, learned this week that his visa would not be renewed. He will be forced to leave his parish in Yaroslavl, 175 miles north of Moscow, when his current visa expires at the end of this month.
Father Krajnak has worked in the Yaroslavl parish for two years, Keston reports. He becomes the third Catholic cleric to be ousted by the Russian government, following Father Stefano Caprio and Bishop Jerzy Mazur.
The secretary of the Russian Catholic Bishops' Conference, Father Igor Kovalevsky, told Keston News Service in Moscow that-- as on previous occasions-- the Foreign Ministry had given no explanation for the denial of a visa.
Father Jerzy Jagodzinski, the Russian head of the Divine Word order to which Fr Krajnak belongs, told Keston that he was extremely surprised by the Foreign Ministry's refusal. «This is a young priest ordained only three years ago,» he said. «He has not had any problems during his ministry.»
Keston also has reported that a group of American Protestant church workers active in Russia have been told by authorities that their visas will not be renewed «for reasons of the security of the State.»
Most members of the group-â?? who preferred not to be identified as they hope the visa denials will be overturned-- had been working in Russia for several years, the Keston report added.
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9. august 2002