{"id":179317,"date":"2025-08-26T17:44:22","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T15:44:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/efecomunica.efe.com\/?p=179317"},"modified":"2025-08-26T18:41:49","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T16:41:49","slug":"kazakhstans-catholic-face-is-multiethnic-says-spanish-bishop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/efecomunica.efe.com\/en\/kazakhstans-catholic-face-is-multiethnic-says-spanish-bishop\/","title":{"rendered":"Kazakhstan\u2019s Catholic face is multiethnic, says Spanish bishop"},"content":{"rendered":"

Astana, Aug 26 (EFE)<\/strong> \u2013 The Catholic community in Kazakhstan<\/strong> has undergone a radical transformation<\/strong> in the three decades since the country\u2019s independence and now includes members of all the ethnic groups living in the nation<\/strong>, Spanish Bishop Jos\u00e9 Luis Mumbiela Sierra<\/strong> told EFE.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe face of Kazakhstan\u2019s Catholic population is multiethnic,\u201d<\/strong> said Mumbiela, bishop of the Holy Trinity Diocese in Almaty<\/strong> and president of the Episcopal Conference of Central Asia<\/strong>, less than a month before Kazakhstan hosts the 8th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Three decades of change since independence<\/h2>\n

The bishop explained that in recent years the community\u2014whose history predates Kazakhstan\u2019s Soviet period (1920\u20131991)<\/strong>\u2014has grown to include \u201cmany people from non-Catholic and even non-Christian backgrounds.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

During the Soviet era, Catholics in Kazakhstan were largely Poles, Germans, and Balts<\/strong> deported to the region. But today, Mumbiela said, \u201cthe face of Catholics in Central Asia, and in Kazakhstan in particular, has changed a lot.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

On one hand, many Germans and Poles have left the region<\/strong>. On the other, \u201cdue to intermarriage, because authentic human love does not know religion,\u201d<\/strong> the community has diversified<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Although the number of faithful has declined\u2014there are an estimated 200,000 Catholics in Central Asia<\/strong>\u2014Mumbiela stressed that the community\u2019s evolution is \u201cpositive.\u201d<\/strong> It is \u201cmore open, and better reflects what the Catholic Church is: it does not belong to one or two nationalities, but is universal, it is of all and for all.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since independence in 1991, the Catholic Church in Kazakhstan<\/strong> has expanded its organizational structure<\/strong>, establishing more parishes and religious institutions.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe have grown in organization; we are more consolidated as a structure,\u201d<\/strong> he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A Church serving society<\/h2>\n

Mumbiela particularly emphasized the Church\u2019s \u201cgood relations with the Kazakh government.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u201cA living church that seeks to be active must project itself not only for the benefit of Catholics, but also for the good of Kazakhstan, so as not to be a church that only thinks of itself, but one that is more capable of contributing something.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Quoting Jesus, he added that the Kazakh Catholic community aims \u201cto be the light of the world, like yeast in the dough, like salt that gives flavor to society\u2014even if small in number, it has a big impact and helps everyone.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n