Catholic missionary expelled from Moscow
April 19, 2022
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CWN Editor's Note: Russian authorities ordered Father Fernando Vera, a Mexican Opus Dei priest who ministers at a Moscow parish, to leave Russia within 24 hours.
“Father Fernando is in the habit of calling things by their name, but today this is not considered a civil virtue in our country,” an anonymous source told AsiaNews. “Even with all the necessary prudence, it is difficult today to avoid committing the offense of ‘defaming the authorities and the army’ even if one only mentions the ‘war’ going on in Ukraine. While this can cost Russian citizens heavy fines or even arrest and imprisonment, for a foreign missionary it means the loss of the right to remain in his post, without even the 48 hours’ notice given to diplomats to be expelled.”
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