Roman Catholic Church reregisters its parishes in Crimea, in accordance with Russian law

The Roman Catholic Church reregisters its parishesin Crimea on demand of Russia. It was reported by Polish Radio.

 “Today we sent the documents to Moscow and are waiting for answers," said auxiliary (Vicar) Bishop of Roman Catholic Odessa and Simferopol diocese Jacek Pyl.

By March, all parishes of the Russia-annexed peninsula must be registered in accordance with Russian law. This means that 10 people with Russian passports shall be the parish members.

After a positive response from Russia, according to the adopted model, the registration of parisheswill begin. According to the bishop, it should start in a few days.

Earlier, after the annexation, the registration of the first batch of documents was denied. The reason was that a part of them was written in Ukrainian. It was also unclear whether the Polish clergy will be able to get visas.

By March organization of the Catholic church on the peninsula will change. It will not be a diocese, but a “pastoral district,” subordinate to the Episcopate of Ukraine. Bishop Jacel Pyl will represent it before the occupation authorities of Crimea.

In Crimea today there are 7 Roman Catholic parishes.