Russia has revoked the visa of yet another foreign-born Catholic cleric.
The action early this month came in the wake of the revocation of visas for
Catholic Bishop Jerzy Mazur and Italian Father Stefano Caprio.
The latest case involves Father Stanislav Krajnak, a Slovak, who has worked for
the past two years in the town of Yaroslavl, 280 kilometers (175 miles) northeast
of Moscow, according to the England-based Keston Institute.
Still serving in his parish, Father Krajnak will have to leave Russia by the
end of August, when his current visa expires.
The secretary of the Russian Catholic Bishops' Conference, Father Igor
Kovalevsky, told Keston News Service that the Foreign Ministry, as in previous
cases, has given no explanation for the visa denial.
The Holy See's mission in Russia is making diplomatic efforts to have the
denial overturned, officials said.
Father Kovalevsky said that earlier this year Father Krajnak was refused a visa
to Kazakhstan. Father Krajnak wanted to travel home to Slovakia by train
through Belarus after his visa expires, but was refused a Belorussian transit
visa.
"This leads us to think that Father Stanislav is on the notorious
blacklist of Catholic priests that they are trying to drive out of
Russia," said Father Kovalevsky.