For example, By the 1960s, the CAROC had already been interfering in the administration of the Russian Orthodox Church, appointing priests and forbidding them from managing their own parishes. According to one source, archives show that the over 20 years of CRA activity show a vast interference in religious affairs, while not having the statutory authority to do so. Through these operations of the CRA, the Soviets were able to install clergymen who were compliant to the Soviet message and authority. Similar attempts were conducted in Baptist and Catholic parishes, with CRA authorities looking to impose "tame bishops" on the church. While the Holy See had the sole authority to appoint bishops, the CRA was Soviet Anti-Catholic Campaigns actively engaged in the creation of national churches to sequester local Catholic churches from the mother church in Rome. In 1980, the CRA teamed with official media outlets, such as the Novosti press agency to "unmask the reactionary content of the political and social conceptions of the Vatican, papal encyclical and other programmatic Vatican documents with the subsequent aim of distributing these materials among the Soviet and foreign mass media. The CRA added a Catholic Department following the election of John Paul II to deal specifically with the "Catholic Question". Archival sources The archives of the CRA are now available in the State Archive of the Russian Federation in Moscow (collection number Р-6991, inventory # 6), the titles of the archival files are searchable through the online database. Heads Vladimir Kuroyedov (1960—1984) Konstantin Kharchev (1984—1989) Yuri Khristoradnov (1989—1991) Notes References See also Society of the Godless USSR anti-religious campaign (1970s–1990) Soviet anti-religious legislation State Administration for Religious Affairs (People's Republic of China) Religion in the Soviet Union Religious affairs ministries Soviet state institutions