Oppression

Not surprisingly, there is a strong theme of oppression in the incredible story of an American Catholic Jesuit priest who journeyed to godless Russia as a missionary but wound up in prison for fifteen years as a political prisoner. The Pope had reached out to Catholic priests to consider training for work in the Soviet Union, a country where Catholic priests were in short supply. However, Russia had a large population of Catholics therefore making it compelling for a dedicated priest to serve the religious needs of the many Catholics who were denied Mass and Confession and the comfort of having a parish priest. But timing was bad when for Father Ciszek who elected to begin his missionary work at the same time Hitler invaded Poland and World War II had begun. Although Russia was a member of the Allied Powers led by the United States, their treatment...