MOSCOW (CNS): Father Fernando Vera, the parish priest of Ss. Peter and Paul Parish, in Moscow, was expelled from Russia without explanation, amid fears for the wellbeing of other clergy ministering in the country. The member of Opus Dei, left the in mid-April after being told his residence permit had been revoked.
Father Kirill Gorbunov, spokesperson for the Russian Bishops’ Conference, said on April 21 no reason had been given for the expulsion, adding that the Catholic Church had “no reason” to believe it was connected with the conflict in Ukraine.
“All he did was relay to people what our bishops had already said—there’s no indication he went beyond that,” Father Gorbunov said, adding, “The letter he received states that a person has the right to appeal, so we hope he’ll reapply for a visa and have a chance to resume his service here.”
He said, “Although I haven’t listened to his church homilies, I know him personally as a balanced, reasonable person, who wouldn’t take radical positions. … Most priests and religious order members here are foreigners, and their superiors abroad are growing worried about them, with some suggesting they should consider leaving Russia for their own safety.”
The letter he received states that a person has the right to appeal, so we hope he’ll reapply for a visa and have a chance to resume his service here
Father Kirill Gorbunov
Father Gorbunov recounted that the Polish priest had recently returned home from Moscow, fearing it could become harder to leave in future.
However, he added that other departures had not been “directly connected with the political situation.” He said Father Vera’s expulsion was believed the first since 2002, when Bishop Jerzy Mazur was arrested in Moscow while returning to Irkutsk and forcibly repatriated to Poland.
“Other cases have been explained with reference to administrative problems, such as faults on work and residence documents,” the spokesperson of the bishops’ conference said.
“On each occasion, people have speculated whether the priest said or did something. But in this case we’ve had no explanation,” Father Gorbunov said.
At least 15,000 people have been arrested for protesting Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine. Russian law was amended on March 4 to impose heavy fines and up to 15 years’ jail for spreading “false information” about the war.
On each occasion, people have speculated whether the priest said or did something. But in this case we’ve had no explanation
Father Gorbunov
Recent peace appeals by Pope Francis have not been published on the Church’s main news website, Cathmos.Ru, to comply with Russian law, which forbids the use of the words “war” and “invasion” in relation to events in Ukraine.
Catholic sources have warned that charitable projects face suspension because of Western sanctions and the cancellation of aid contracts, while many parishes are short of liturgical objects usually imported from abroad.
Russia’s Catholic Church has 270 parishes spread over four nonterritorial dioceses and represents less than one per cent of the country’s 146 million inhabitants, according to Vatican data.
The Church relies heavily on clergy from abroad. In 2021, Church leaders spoke against amendments to Russia’s 1997 Freedom of Conscience Law, which now requires foreign-trained clergy to obtain “recertification from a Russian religious organisation.”
Only one of the country’s five bishops, Auxiliary Bishop Nikolai Gennadevich Dubinin of Moscow’s Mother of God Archdiocese, is Russian-born.
