16 April 2022: A Mexican priest serving one of three Roman Catholic parishes in Moscow has been forced to leave Russia after he was informed by the authorities that his residence permit had been revoked. He was informed on the day before Easter and given 24 hours to leave the country; no explanation was given (Asia News, 19 April 2022). According to the report: "The expulsion of missionaries is nothing new in Russia, and already in the early years of the Putin regime there had been several cases, indicating the Russians' desire to ward off "˜foreign influences". For years, Russian Catholics have been keeping a low profile, avoiding initiatives that could be accused of proselytism and professing absolute loyalty to the authorities and their instructions, but this is clearly not enough."
World Watch Research analyst Rolf Zeegers sees the expulsion of the Mexican priest as an indication of increasing pressure from the Russian authorities on non-Russian Orthodox Christians: "This incident affects the Catholic Church, which has many foreign clergy due to the fact that there are not enough Russian priests to cover the approximately 300 Catholic parishes in Russia. Of the four Catholic bishops serving in Russia, three are foreign citizens and one is a German with Russian citizenship. The situation for Protestants in the country is very different, in that practically all their leaders are Russian citizens. It is therefore very unlikely that Protestant churches will experience such expulsions. Nonetheless, it is no secret that the Russian authorities are very nervous about the many foreign contacts Protestant Christians have. As a result, they must expect close surveillance, particularly at the current time with war in Ukraine and international sanctions in place."
