The Vatican condemned the violation of religious liberty in Russia
and other countries, before a council of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe.
Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, Vatican secretary for relations with states,
today told the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs that this year, in some
OSCE countries, "leaders of communities of believers, among whom is a
Catholic bishop, have been expelled from the country where they carried out
their apostolate or have been impeded from being with their faithful."
The archbishop was referring to the expulsion of Bishop Jerzy Mazur from his
diocese in Siberia, and five other Catholic priests from the Russian
Federation, without explanation.
The measures are especially grave since they violate agreements Russia endorsed
as an OSCE member, Archbishop Tauran pointed out.
He also assailed practices in other member countries, such as Belarus, which
adopted one of the most restrictive laws on religion in the world.
"These attitudes, often adopted arbitrarily, manifest mistrust toward the
religious reality, ignoring the role of religions in civil society, a violation
of international commitments freely endorsed and a discrimination against
believers," the archbishop said.
"When, for historical reasons, a confession is in the majority, and
certain of its rights and privileges are recognized, this cannot take place in
detriment to the fundamental liberties of other confessions present in the
national territory," he added.
"This happens, for example, when a church claims monopoly of religious
life over the national territory, and appeals for the support of the state to
ensure it better," the Vatican official said.
Thus, "followers of other religions can become victims of an intolerable
discrimination promoted by the law and the freedom of citizens consciences is
threatened, who have the right to change their religion or not to have
any," he said.
The Vatican representative also referred to the problem of terrorism, the
traffic in human beings, and tolerance and discrimination -- key topics of the
meeting of OSCE ministers.
The Vatican "has not ceased to encourage and support the efforts of those
who try to eradicate the causes that are at the base of these realities, which
disfigure the human person and endanger the survival of societies,"
Archbishop Tauran said.
"Poverty, unemployment, lack of cultural resources, unresolved economic
and social crises, are areas susceptible to becoming germs of the virus of
hatred and barbarism, whose devastating effects are before our eyes," he
warned.
OSCE is the largest regional security
organization in the world, with 55 participant states from Europe, Central Asia
and North America. It is active in early warning, conflict prevention, crisis
management and post-conflict rehabilitation.