Bishop Schneider On The Chaos In Kazakhstan


Bishop Schneider: Catholics in Kazakhstan are safe amid unrest 

Bishop Athanasius Schneider said on Saturday that Catholics in Kazakhstan are safe amid unprecedented unrest in the Central Asian country. Schneider, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Maria Santissima in Astana, issued the message on his Twitter account on Jan. 8. “The Catholics in Kazakhstan are thanks to God safe,” he wrote. “In our churches we continue to celebrate the Holy Mass, doing Eucharistic Adoration and praying particularly for peace in our country and for harmony in the social live, which the Kazakh people desire.” Protests broke out in the nation of almost 19 million people on Jan. 2 after a steep rise in gas prices. Demonstrations began in the city of Zhanaozen and spread to other urban areas, including the country’s largest city, Almaty. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a nationwide state of emergency and summoned troops from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, an alliance comprising Russia and allied states. Tokayev ordered security forces to “fire without warning,” the BBC reported on Jan. 7. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the day before for “a peaceful, rights-respecting resolution to the crisis.” Source 



Comments