Roman Catholicism in Russia

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The Roman Catholic Church in Russia is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.

Contents 1 Origins 2 20th century 3 21st century 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Origins

[edit] 20th century

[edit] 21st century

There are approximately 750,000 Catholics in Russia - about 0.5% of the total population. For those of the Latin Rite there are five dioceses, including 1 archdiocese, plus an Apostolic Prefecture. There is a separate jurisdiction for those of the Byzantine Rite.

In February 2002, the Catholic Apostolic Administrations were formed into one archdiocese in Moscow, and three diocese in Novosibirsk, Saratov, and Irkutsk.^[1]

The Catholic Archbishop of Moscow has voiced his support for religious education in state sponsored schools, citing the examples of other countries.^[2]

Relations with the Russian Orthodox church have been rocky for nearly a millennium, and attempts at re-establishing Catholicism have met with opposition. Pope John Paul II for years expressed a desire to visit Russia, but the Russian Orthodox Church has for years resisted.^[3] In April 2002, Bishop Jerry Mazur of Eastern Siberia was striped of his visa, forcing the appointment of a new bishop for that diocese.^[4] In 2002, five foreign Catholic priests were denied visas to return to Russia, construction of a new cathedral was blocked in Pskov, and a church in southern Russia was shot at.^[5] On Christmas Day 2005, Russian Orthodox activists planned to picket outside of Moscow's Catholic Cathedral, but the picket was cancelled.^[6] Despite the recent thawing of relations with the election of Pope Benedict XVI, there are still issues such as the readiness of the police to protect Catholics and other minorities from persecution.^[7]

One thousand Russian Catholics gathered in the Virgin Mary’s Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Moscow to watch the Pope's funeral.^[8]

A 2004 Ecumenical conference was organized for Russia's "traditional religions" Orthodox Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism, and therefore excluded Catholicism.^[9]

[edit] See also

Russian Catholic Church

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Russian Catholic Bishops Website (Russian)
• Catholic St. Petersburg and North-Western Russia