According to the law, foreign priests working in Russia must have a temporary visa, which is renewed at the will of the authorities. Father Opiela, 62, is of Polish nationality.
Archbishop John Bukowski, apostolic nuncio in the Russian Federation, Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz and Father Opiela himself have asked the Foreign Affairs Ministry to explain the reasons for the denial. No answer has been given.
According to Rome-based VID, a news agency of religious communities, the measure is a kind of blackmail by nationalist authorities because of the work done by Father Opiela in the reorganization of the bishops´ conference. Father Opiela is also rector of St. Thomas Aquinas College in Moscow.
