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A.C.N - Aid to the Church in Need Italian Office |
Religious Freedom in
the Majority Islamic Countries |
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Kazakhstan Population:
16,554,000
There is liberty of religion and of association, subject to control of the government, which in 1996 even proposed legislation for the prevention of proselytism, owing to the numerous conversions. In reality, however, nothing has been done against the missionaries, except for the actions of minor state officials. In 1991 the first presidential elections were held, and after his election the new President Nazarbayev declared independence - in anticipation of the break-up of the Soviet Union. The country has become a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States and with a new constitution in 1995 it became a presidential Republic. In January 1998, Kazakhstan abolished the Council for Religious Affairs, which had hitherto exercised control over undesired religious activities, preventing the upsurge of Islamic extremism and controlling the activities of Western missionaries. There are around 40 groups active in the country, with 1,600 communities officially registered. Archbishop Marian Oles, apostolic nuncio for Central Asia with responsibility for the republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, gave an interview to the Catholic Radio and Television Network (CRTN) on February 10 1996 in which he stated that "after communism the people in these countries are trying to understand what the Church is doing. Their origin is Turkish; perhaps the Catholic Church has not thought much about this aspect. The sects are moving in more quickly, we are slower but we are acting in a correct manner. There are around 500,000 Catholics in Central Asia; some believe there are more, possibly as many as a million. But many people do not know what religion to choose and above all they do not want to talk about it; they are even afraid to speak openly about religion, not wanting to be exposed to discrimination or lose their jobs. The largest group of Catholics are the ethnic Germans, followed by the Slav peoples, principally the Poles; the third are the Koreans and the fourth those people who have arrived since independence. As of today there are around 40 priests, while others come and go. They are always too few, given the distances to be covered throughout this vast territory. One of the things which moved me most on my arrival was to see persons aged 70 and even 80 receiving Confirmation. Theirs were true testimonies of Faith, emerging from persecution. Here there is a need of everything, from the teaching of English to the rebuilding of places of worship. Many churches are completely ruined and we are now repairing them; others are like catacombs while others again have been found in secret places that few even know about. Today there is freedom of religion, albeit with problems and difficulties. There is a fear of the fundamentalists because they are creating instability, whereas the Catholic Church is seen as stable." On October 24 1998, the Holy See and Kazakhstan - who have maintained diplomatic relations since 1992 - signed an accord, the first between the Vatican and a former Soviet republic. This guarantees the Church full religious freedom, the right to carry out her own social, educational and charitable activities and access to the means of communication. The Church is also granted the ability to acquire property. |
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