WASHINGTON — A former Utahn who heads the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is calling for President Bush to raise concerns in an upcoming visit to Russia about mistreatment of religious minorities in that country.
Bush will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week as part of a Euro-Russia tour.
"Particularly ominous is the role of the Russian federal government in recent official discrimination against religious minorities," said Michael K. Young, commission chairman.
Roman Catholics have been the primary targets of discrimination, Young said, but Mormons, Jews, Pentecostals and Jehovah's Witnesses are also victims.
The commission was formed by Congress to advise it and the administration on matters affecting religious freedom in the world. Young, a Brigham Young University graduate, is dean of the George Washington University law school.
In a statement issued by the commission Thursday, Young urged the president to include meetings with non-Orthodox Christian and non-Christian leaders as well as with the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church.
"Meeting only with Russian Orthodox leaders at this sensitive time for religious freedom in Russia will very much send the wrong signal. The President must also make it clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin that religious freedom has to be fully protected in order to build closer ties between Russia and the United States," Young said.
Young said that while religious freedom has improved since the fall of the old Soviet Union, many religious minorities have faced problems since Russia passed a law in 1997 giving advantages to "traditional" religions, such as the Russian Orthodox Church, and forcing others to meet strict registration rules or be liquidated.
The commission expressed particular concern about recent actions against the Roman Catholic Church.
Last month, Russian officials revoked the visa of Roman Catholic Bishop Jerzy Mazur, one of only four Catholic bishops in the country. Bishop Mazur, who heads the diocese of Irkutsk, was also apparently put on a list of persons permanently barred from entering Russia.
A statement by the commission said the visa of at least one other Catholic priest has also been revoked recently, and Russian officials are reportedly trying to expel another foreign-born priest. After decades of repression during the Soviet period, the Catholic Church in Russia is still highly dependent on foreign-born clergy.
Such action followed a decision by the Roman Catholic Church in February to establish formal dioceses in Russia.
A commission statement also said it comes amid demonstrations against Catholics, reportedly organized by a coalition of Russian lawmakers and nationalist activists, and proposals in the Duma (lower house of parliament) to favor the Russian Orthodox Church and repress other Christian churches.
The commission statement said that Roman Catholics are not the only group experiencing problems in Russia.
It said about 2,000 religious organizations face liquidation under the restrictive 1997 law. It said dozens have already been liquidated, including several that apparently were functioning actively.
A commission statement said, "Local officials have refused to register several other groups, exposing them to potential liquidation and other forms of harassment. These problems affect Jehovah's Witnesses, Evangelical Christians, Pentecostals, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and others. There has also been a recent upswing in anti-Semitic incidents."