MOSCOW, MAY 16, 2002 (Zenit.org).-A draft resolution entreating President Vladimir Putin to prohibit the Catholic Church´s presence in Russia did not receive the necessary number of votes for its adoption by the Duma.
A considerable number of parliamentarians (169 Deputies) in attendance at the meeting voted in favor of the proposal presented by parliamentarian Viktor Alksnis. But the resolution, failing to meet its required 226 votes (of the 450 Duma seats), was not passed. Only 37 Deputies voted against it; 4 abstained.
With the resolution, Alksnis, Deputy of the Regions of Russia group, reproached the Catholic Church for creating four dioceses in Russia, a measure that, according to him, regards his country as «a spiritual desert» and seeks to «impose its will on the Russian nation.»
When announcing its decision on February 11, the Vatican explained in a press statement, that the sole objective of the four dioceses was to respond to the spiritual needs of Catholics in that country, in respect of their right to religious liberty. It denied the intent to «proselytize» among the Orthodox.
