The senior prelate of the Roman Catholic Church in Russia did not sign a joint statement by Christian leaders in the country condemning violations of religious freedom in other countries.
A statement from the inter-confessional consultative committee expressing “concern regarding the ongoing oppression and violations of the rights of Christians in a number of countries” did not include the signature of Archbishop Paolo Pezzi FSCB, according to the Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU).
Published on 15 January, the statement signed by representatives of the Orthodox, Protestant, Evangelical and other churches condemned the alleged persecution of Christians, specifying the countries where they said authorities were using religion for political purposes: Ukraine, Moldova, Estonia and Armenia.
Some of these countries have recently taken measures to curb the activity of churches linked to the Moscow Patriarchate, on the grounds that it supports the invasion of Ukraine and the wider Russkiy mir (“Russian world”) ideology. In August 2024, the operations of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine were prohibited by law.
However, the statement made no claims about widely-reported violations of religious freedom in Russia and Belarus, nor about China, Iran or Syria.
Fr Kirill Gorbunov, spokesman of the Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow which Pezzi heads, said the archbishop did not sign the statement because he has no authority to make official statements regarding other countries.
“Pezzi generally shares the position expressed in the statement, but the internal rules of the Roman Catholic Church do not allow him to make similar statements on his behalf,” Gorbunov said, according the Russian news agency RIA.
Russia’s small Catholic population has a low public profile and its leadership strives to avoid public controversy, especially since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Speaking to Agenzia Fides during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which the archdiocese marked at its cathedral with representatives from Protestant communities, Pezzi said unity in Christ is “a challenge for society [because] when we live this love, this unity, it spreads, and when it spreads, one cannot remain indifferent – one must take a stand”.
“And there are two options: to embrace this unity, which creates relationships and bridges, or to reject it, which leads to violence and persecution. This happens when one does not accept that God intervenes in human reality,” he said.
“However, unity with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit can also be experienced amid ugliness, conflict and division, and makes it possible to bear witness to love in the midst of it all.”