The Reasons of my Expulsion from Russia

Dear friends, it is the 3-rd day of my stay in Japan after my expulsion (text written Thursday, 12 September).My brain slowly repairs and I may talk less shoked as before about the background of my personal tragedy which is also a big pain of many missionary people in Russia being on a possible “black list", to be expelt in a near future.

Official statement of Orthodox Church from late June 2002 is criticizing all the Catholic Church in "over-activity" and attracting ethnic Russians to Catholic Church. Orthodox Bishop Kirill, author of the document, is telling that Russia no need missionary people because they are already baptized 1000 years ago and there is no need of foreign missionaries, because Rusia is mostly Orthodox. Acording to this statement, we Catholics are proselitizing Russians which is a big pain for Alexy II the Moscow Patriarch. There are some names of Catholic priests and sisters in the document and many catholic congregations (which have official name as missionaries: Missionary of Divine Word, Claretian Missionaries, Missionaries of Holy Family etc.).

My name is also on that list. Bishop Kirill describe my "unkind interview" in which I was telling the people in Kamchatka TV in Spring 2000, that Russia got Baptism in 988 from the Unique and Universal Church (not yet divided at that time in Catholics and Orthodox ). My statement expressing an historical truth was a shock for local people, because of their small knowledge how much Catholics and Orthodox were near each other. Because of competition which we have in Russia, Moscow Orthodox prefers keep silence about it and always talk about us Catholics as heretics...Therefore, talking about such “taboo” was the possible second reason of my expulsion.,

Karafuto story... Sakhalin, the parish in Russia, near Hokkaido in which I was staying last 3 years has beautiful Catholic tradition connected to Japanese roots. All the missionary people came on Sakhalin from Hakodate or Sapporo. I was appointed by Bishop Mazur to be diocesan historian. So I looked for details and I found out that in Japanese times (1905-1945), in Sakhalin about 34 priests were working there. Most of them were Franciscans (OFM): the first group was French, later Germans, last group was a part Polish a part Japanese priests. It is very easy to ask more information in Sapporo diocese. Until December 2000, Bishop Peter Jinoushi was Apostolic Prefect of Sakhalin (Karafuto), and because the community destroyed in 1948 (renovated only in 1992 by Korean missionaries from Taegu), Russian officials never care about it. Only after transfering canonical responsabillity from Sapporo to Irkutsk (from Bp. Jinushi to Bp.Mazur), the problem started. Bishop in Irkutsk put in all his documents the title “East Siberia and Karafuto”..And for this reason, somebody commented in Moscow: he is giving excuse to give back Sakhalin to Japan. From our Catholic point of view, Vatican was respecting totally Russian sovereignty on Sakhalin: Bishop Mazur of Irkutsk (Russia) became "the boss" on Sakhalin instead of the Japanese Bishop .The newly established bishop respected the tradition and keep naming Sakhalin Karafuto without any political signification. For these reasons from January 2002 until April 10-th, I was invited to Ministry of justice, to the Court and to the immigration police to explain the situation. I warned Bishop Mazur that Russians insist on using the actual name “Sakhalin” and Vatican does it 10-th April. Though it was a long and painful juridical action, we were obeying Russian directives. Unfortunately it was not satisfactory (maybe) and Bishop Mazur was expelled 19-th April from Moscow to Warsaw and now 10-th September, maybe I was rejected for the same reason. The most funny is that all these are only "probably reasons". Immigration police explain only that any country has a sovereign right to forbid some foreigners entering Russia. Vatican is protesting but there is no reaction. In the moment, I am one of 5 priests expelled from Russia without receiving official reasons. The difference is that the previous priests had only one year visa or temporary visa, but I spend in Russia 10 years and in 2000 , I got the green card(called by Russians a permanent stay)with a 5 years visa valid until 2005, with the possibility of getting Russian nationality in 2003. The lawyers was telling me that the green card may be cancelled only by the Court. Therefore, I think that I have a very special situation and I ask some Human Rights’ defenders to think how to solve this case. I know that in many Japanese dioceses there is a Comission for “Justice and Peace”. According to the strong wish of my Moscow Archbishop, I hope that they may collaborate with other Human Rights’ organizations . In an official statement of immigration police in Khabarovsk, one person mentioned that I was told to not come back 2 months ago, but in fact nobody cancelled my visa, and my return ticket from NIIGATA to Khabarovsk was valid.

I may tell you one additional reason. It is about my personal concern. Catholics, having many generous friends in foreign countries, built recently many nice churches in Russia. The Patriarch Orthodox, having not so many friends, built less churches. I was the one who could build a nice church in the center of Sakhalin. And maybe it was a most practical but not juridical reason of expelling me. In the time of Tsars’ empire, when Orthodoxy was a State Religion, Catholics were forbidden to built churches with towers higher than local Orthodox ones...It is funny but such was the situation. It seems that the Orthodox Authority wants to restore that rule. Finally, I wish again express my gratitude to all the Japanese friends, especially to the Yokohama diocese for their hospitality and their human aid and care. I appreciate it strongly now, being here. 10 years ago, the first democratic president of Poland, Lech Walesa, made a statement that his dream is to make “POLAND a SECOND JAPAN”...For me, in these difficult days, JAPAN BECAME a SECOND POLAND.

Thank you a lot. God bless you for your sympathy and your help to Russian Catholics.

Fr. Jaroslaw Wisniewski - Kawasaki-Asada-cho