News of the plan of the region’s governor, Alexei Ostrovsky, to open a branch of the Moscow State Academic Philharmonic in a Catholic-owned church in Smolensk has aroused “surprise and disappointment in the Catholics of Smolensk and Russia”. This was written by the News Service of the Archdiocese of the Mother of God, in Moscow, that points out that “the Catholic parish of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin in Smolensk has submitted documents twice over the last few years to have the church of the same name back”. The second submission was rejected, because one of the records did not contain the definition of “religious” building, the notice explains. The bureaucratic procedure for having the church back began in 1991, when the parish was established. “The archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow hopes that the provincial and federal authorities may take the right decision, pursuant to the federal Act ‘On transfer of properties of religious institutions for religious purposes’”, goes on the notice, which ends: “Smolensk’s Catholics’ wish to pray in their ancient temple does not mean that the building cannot also be a culture centre for Smolensk’s residents and visitors: in Russia, many Catholic churches host concerts, which attract a wide public. Concern for the development of culture cannot be solved by breaching the believers’ rights”.