DHAKA (UCAN): “I am leaving Bangladesh after nine years, not because I want to but because the government has not granted me a renewal of my permission to be here,” said Father Belisaario De Jesus Ciro Montoya of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions [PIME], adding, “I wanted to work for the people of this country.”
Father Montoya, fellow PIME Father Pietro Parolari, Father Marcello Storgato of the Society of St. Francis Xavier for Foreign Missions, and Sister Lorna Caballero Bonghanoy of the Daughters of Jesus had applied to the Ministry of Religion to extend their visas in 2020.
Father Montoya, who is from Colombia, wrote a blog post expressing his deep sadness “because I love this country and I want to continue serving its people” while also admitting to feeling bitter and angry “since I have not received any explanation as to why the government refused [the visa extension].”
He wrote, “However, I also know that I have not done anything reprehensible; rather, I have tried to serve each and every one of them without distinction of any kind.”
The Ministry of Religion clarified that it approves visas only if there is a positive report from various intelligence agencies of the Ministry of Home Affairs. In the case of the foreign missionaries—Father Storgato and Father Parolari are Italian while Sister Lorna is from the Philippines—clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs was still awaited.
“All this is done according to rules,” Azam Uddin Talukder, an assistant secretary at the Ministry of Religion, insisted.
However, a Church official dealing with visa-related issues faced by missionaries said the intelligence agencies had issued a negative report leading to the withholding of the extensions.
“We are trying to solve the issue through diplomatic channels. But if they’re still denied visa extensions, they will have to leave the country,” he added.
Nirmol Rozario, secretary of the Christian Religious Welfare Trust, said, “There is no reason why the missionaries are not getting their visa extensions. I will discuss the matter with the ministry authorities.”
