Talas (Agenzia Fides) – In the last few hours, new details have emerged that clarify the dynamics and scope of the events that took place on Sunday March 26 in the Catholic parish of Saint Nicholas in Talas, Kyrgyzstan (see Fides, 28/3/2023), where at the end of the evening Eucharistic celebration, when the faithful began to leave the church, some policemen and agents of the State Committee for National Security entered the place of worship armed, forcing those who were leaving to return to the building.
The officers fined Sr. Daniela Činčilová and Sr. Eva Eliašová, Slovak citizens of the School Sisters of St. Francis Congregation, USD 90 each, in criminal proceedings under Article 142 (“Violation of the legislation on religious freedom and religious organizations”) of the Penal Code of the Republic. According to the authorities who ordered the intervention of the police, the nuns are responsible for illegally preaching Catholicism among the inhabitants of Talas without authorization from the State Commission for Religious Affairs. The officers prevented the faithful present from leaving the building, saying that this would not be possible until the nuns signed the document declaring them guilty, keeping them in the church for approximately an hour and a half. Sister Daniela and Sister Eva signed, to avoid any consequences that their prolonged refusal could entail, despite the fact that the liturgical service was celebrated in full compliance with the norms of the Republic. In fact, during the mass, the two Slovak missionaries limited themselves to reading from the ambo the two readings provided by the liturgical calendar, that is, they did not preach or preside over the celebration of the Eucharist, both actions that a foreign citizen in Kyrgyzstan can only carry out if in possession of a special certificate issued by the competent government bodies.
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ASIA/KYRGYZSTAN – New details on the intervention of armed agents in the Catholic church of Talas – Agenzia Fides
ASIA/KYRGYZSTAN – New details on the intervention of armed agents in the Catholic church of Talas – Agenzia Fides
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