Russian bishops’ official criticizes ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses

May 02, 2017

The Russian Supreme Court has declared the Jehovah’s Witnesses an extremist organization and ordered the confiscation of its property—prompting criticism from the secretary-general of the Catholic bishops’ conference.

“Churches like ours don’t recognize the Jehovah’s Witnesses as Christian and don’t engage in dialogue with them, but we must distinguish theological issues from legal rights,” Msgr. Igor Kovalevsky said of the decision, which outlawed the sect.

He added, “There are very strong misgivings among Catholics that we, too, may be facing, if not persecution, then at least new acts of discrimination and limits on our freedom of belief.”

 

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Further information:

• Russian Catholic official criticises ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses (Catholic Herald)