Catherine Doherty, Russian emigrant-catholic describes in her writings own impressions from revolutionary Spain as journalist. She said: “most horrible was to see in the middle of some ruined church destroyed tabernacle and Holy Hosts “artistic way” decorating human sheet (excrements). The one who does it was not a baby. He was knowing what such a host is symbolizing. For faithful people, such importance is given by using any “golden made” Tabernacle nicely decorated just for one purpose: to avoid such acts… So desecration was made to hurt believers in the deepest way, hurting their souls and their faith. Another play of that time was ripping nuns and killing seminarians or priest.

So that kind of pain became daily bread for Russian Catholics. The people who treat us foreign priests as criminals are very intelligent people. They know who we are. They also know pretty well that no crime was committed, but they “create stories for the poor” about sovereignty danger which we may be for “BIG RUSSIA”… 300 hundred of foreign priests are presented like “Samson Army” ready to destroy “Russian Philistine”. All these writings made in a gangster style of Russian 1930-50, when legends about “Vatican Spy” were very popular and many people killed being accused of this kind of nonsense. In February 2002, paid journalists, specialists of hearing phone calls or scanning internet started a war against catholics… They intentionally misinterpreted our way of speaking about KARAFUTO, CATHOLIC DIOCESES and MISSION. It is important to tell you that except the 5 priests officially kicked out from Russia, we have some people which have no defenders, because they decided “freely by themselves”, to “go home”. In the recent “SVETEVANGELIA”, Russian catholic weekly, the general director of the paper is telling: Russian leaders did not tell us directly “what is going on”, but they use typical soviet method about “giving ideas” to the victim “let them think themselves” about their sins and auto-correct!. No need to repeat “this kind of sins is only imagination of” Secret Service (SS)” . They are not a crime, but just unwilled activity: “politically not correct”.

According Victor Khrul (SE), SS has found weak side of Catholics, the so called “Achilles‘ tendon”. They got realize that during one year (the maximal duration of religious foreigners visa), they may “make order” with unwilled persons (persona non grata). This will create many problems for the normal existence of parishes or even dioceses. The most pitiful is that among the specialists expelling us, it may be a part of Orthodox clergy formerly engaged in Soviet SS activities. (This was the background of a recent affair concerning some US Army general from Russian origin who was tempted by an Orthodox bishop to be KGB agent in USA).

Meanwhile speakers of government and Moscow Patriarchy with joyful faces explain to us that it is normal to forbid some foreign citizens the entrance to any State. They say also that some time ago many western countries were expelling orthodox also. Is this kind of attitude a revenge? We may ask: for what period of time. Is it a nostalgia for a cold war? So for the Russian State, 5 Catholics priests, (one of them is Mgr. Mazur, BISHOP of the biggest territorially catholic diocese in the world) “cannot return home”, to their parishioners.

And at the same time, President Putin calls himself “democratic man” or friend of the western people. And also he sent an official answer to the Pope’s warning appeal, saying that in Russia there is a full religious freedom and there is “no persecution” of Catholics. What kind of irony and hypocrisy it is! Nobody is an advocate in own case. Therefore, Mr. Putin has to agree that we may have different opinion on his behavior.

Our different opinion is founded on the following facts. Recently, because of the “auto-criticism” system created by “Tax Police” ,“Immigration Police”, and many other SS activities, besides those 5 priests there are some priests and sisters who were forced to go home in order to avoid further bad treatment. Such a story happened in the past many places.

The reason I decided to write such apology is very simple. Starting from December 2000 until March 2001, catholic church in Russia loosed 3 wonderfull misionnary priests very strange way. One of them 40 years old was empoisoned, by unknown poison by a “beger from Kazakhstan”, which had a custom to visit churches but never commited such a crime before. Some of us is thinking… that such a young priest was killed same initiative as fr. Popieluszko in Poland, because of his many activities In South Russia and poor lady just “made It”. Most his crime was restoration of 18-th century catholic church just on the main street in about million citizens city.

Without any special reason. Police has nothing to explain. Same the court. No official excuse was made to family of that young foreigner. No official excuse to catholic bishops or parishionners which suffer until now.

Second story happened in deep Siberia… 77 years old priest was killed by a criminal In Easter time. He was a missionnary man in Canada and India before. Not ordinary man, a scientist professor of economy in some Universities. He preferred to sacrifice his old but beautiful life for Russia and spend here just 6 years. The crime was made by a young criminal very known to the parishioners and priests. Motivation and inspiration is again unknown. Crime was brutally made in the small chapel using metalic subjects on vinculed victim. Again no excuse to family, parishioners or Bishop. No official condolentions to native country of a victim. For Europe and other catholic countries big tragedy, for Russia… just ordinary story.

By telling you my story, I wish venerate also the 3-rd priest my 70 years old man who was supposed to be expelled for his numerous activities in Russia. But, he died, a year before this “campaign of shame” started. He was sick, but the speedy progress of his illness was also provoked by this Russian bureaucracy. He also spent 30 years on mission in Korea before coming to Russia. But after having built 4 churches, 6 chapels, even electricity turbine and sea dump, he was asking himself and people around solemn Russian word POCHEMU? (why)

POCHEMU? Why Korea did not forbid to built churches, but Russia does it?

POCHEMU? Why many State workers are corrupted? And ask money out of reason?

POCHEMU? Why orthodox is interfering in our catholic business without being asked any consultation?

POCHEMU? Why police instead of searching criminals investigate priests?

He left from Russia just after a couple of visits in some offices showing us the possible localization of the church “out of red line”. It means out of the center. POCHEMU? WHY?.

Recently some journalist criticized me, our Bishop Mazur and other priest using arguments which in my opinion effect badly not only bishop or myself but also the “a peace of souls” of my friend and two others priests recently killed In Russia. I will not use the name of journalist to not hurt her personally, because in my oppinion she is only a paid woman to make dirty job. Inspiration is not from her heart. Also she is not the only one doing so these days. So I will criticize the behavior not a person. I am only afraid that avoiding criticism we create atmosphere when any bad talking about Catholics or silence may Inspire not only migration police or tax police but also criminals to continue killing priests fisically or moral way like it was in soviet period in my native country.

So my enemy journalist is telling the readers such stories (between others): ”Catholics cannot have a church in the center of the city… You will answer for Karafuto… You have to destroy your newly built church in Chita… You can’t get back the old church because it became a venereal hospital… Fr. Jaroslav is suffering for these reasons, for his expel, and that he obeys his own bishop, that Vatican is defending him”. Is it so fun? POCHEMU? Why journalist is enjoying to write sarcastically about these facts?

All Christians have to be purified in this life or in after their death… We may think that the actual pain of the of catholics is purifying them. But what kind of profit and joy unbeliving journalists and the people Inspiring them are expecting for ?. They like to talk about Karafuto story, but they know better than other people that Vatican has adopted the Russian name of “Sakhalin”. Personally I gave the documents signed by card. Sodano and John Paul II to the Yuzno-Sakhalinsk Court. By this decision, the greatest authority of Catholic Church must have satisfied them, but they still publish articles ignoring this decision of the Vatican. This way, the simple people is mislead. In mentionned article, Karafuto is still used as a justification of blaming and expelling missionaries.

Why they are hurting Mgr. Mazur, as Russian Bishop, inherited Karafuto from Sapporo (Japan) jurisdiction. This way he helped the Russian diplomacy. Therefore, why are they hurting him? Since April 10, 2002, all the world knows that Vatican adopts the name “Sakhalin” instead of Karafuto.

Why jurnalist is allowed to create ridicule article about unjustly expelled priests In Poland I was trained keep silence about absent or dead people. If we want to talk about them, we have to talk good things. The expelled priests were not condemned by the Court. Why journalist is writing about them as if they were criminals? Her article’s title misused the word “confession”, because the Tax Police has no right to hear the people’s confession. If it was a confession, it is supposed to be secret. Why Ms. Novak is revealing the private life of a priest? We appeal to journalists and people inspiring them: stop criticizing priests. Stop killing and expelling them. They leave Russia slowly keeping own dignity, don't help them, don't hurry them by such a treatment.

Concerning the legend about Chita problem. You know. After my vacations (5.IX.2002), my bishop proposed me by e-mail to be back to Chita. How Ms. Novak does know this? How she could have access to my e-mail? Who did permit her to enter in my private e-mail line, or in the line of my bishop? Both of us, we are living out of Russia. So please, don’t hurt us if you want we talk kindly about Russia. Your article obliged us to talk negatively. I am deeply sorry for that. I feel that Church is not disturbing you in your daily life and you don’t need to fight with us. Probably, you were forced to write this article and well paid to publish it. Please, feel more free in the future… just because of that possible meeting on the way to eternity. I will look in your eyes who ever you are.

Concerning the Memorial of History… In Chita, we, Catholics, theoretically we have such memorial on Ostrovski Street, but actually it is in Orthodox hands… Local Orthodox priests, as in Blagoveshchensk, took catholic property without telling us they are sorry for it. It happened in Stalin time (1947). At that time, all Orthodox churches were closed. But now, in Chita, many Orthodox churches returned back. Some new ones are in construction. Nobody disturb Orthodox church in Chita. We would very glad to get back this Memorial of History. But Orthodox Bishop has no intention to give it back. Bishop Mazur accepts this position, hoping to avoid conflict. It is why he requested personally the Mayor of the City to get a piece of land (13.III.2000). As a fruit of such compromise, we got a land on Mostova Street, with some destroyed buildings (10 or 20 years recreation wooden houses with his heating center). Our new catholic church was built with the remains of this heating center, because of our lack of finances. This way, nothing was destroyed by Catholics but restored. I was there 29th June 2002, and as former pastor in Chita, I know the history of this construction. Ms. Novak, you got wrong information about it, like about the other facts mentioned in your article. WRONG MESSAGE, WRONG TIME AND　MATERIAL… believe me.

Concerning my sufferings. Yes, I suffered 10 years during my presence in Russia. I have no pastoral experience in Poland as a priest. To be expelled is for me a big loss, a great pain. This is not only my personal problem. The most important problem is: how you may guarantee freedom of faith for the people in all the Russia, in these places where priests were expelled from. By forcing them to become orthodox? But, this way of doing is implementing the classic CUIUS　REGIO EIUS RELIGIO… a statement used 400 years ago during religion war-time. Patriarch’s statement about Russia as canonical territory of Orthodox Church has this meaning. For this reason, he is calling catholic missionaries’ presence in Russia “proselytism”.

In my opinion, Patriarch’s statement is an example of pure proselytism, because he obliges people to participate in only one “State church”… By his public unfriendly statements, he gives excuse to politicians and SS agents to persecute Catholics and Protestants.

Fr. Jaroslaw Wisniewski – Kawasaki – Asada – Katorikku Kyokai