Editor of what was Russia's only Catholic paper discusses its closure

Published: 2008-01-14

WARSAW, Poland (CNS) -- The editor of what was once Russia's only Catholic weekly said he has accepted the decision to shut down the newspaper, but expressed disappointment over its sudden closure. Viktor Kroul, editor of Svet Evangelia (Light of the Gospel), said Archbishop Paolo Pezzi of the Moscow-based Archdiocese of the Mother of God had not notified him personally why the newspaper was shut down. "This isn't an act of suppression -- it's a difference of understanding," said Kroul, referring to the decision to close the paper. "The problem is that our new archbishop has a completely different plan for the Catholic media in Russia and hasn't explained it to readers of Svet Evangelia." Father Igor Kovalevsky, secretary-general of the Russian bishops' conference, said, "It isn't a question of closing the newspaper, but of reshaping it to suit a new information policy which reflects current needs." He told CNS Jan. 9 that "all necessary information" about the Catholic Church could be obtained from Russia's Interfax and Blagovest news agencies and that "the bishops' conference also plans to provide more information via its Web site."

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