Another 11 priests of the Minsk-Mohilev Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church are being forced to leave Belarus because they did not receive approval from the Office of the Commissioner for Religious and Ethnic Affairs to continue their religious activities, while some were granted permission only for a minimum period.
This is reported by the Christian Vision resource.
According to the publication, Archbishop Metropolitan of Minsk-Mohilev Yuzef Staneuski asked Alyaksandr Lukashenka to extend permission for these priests to serve in Belarus.
However, it is already known that during Mass on August 15, parishioners said farewell at the cathedral in Mahilyow to Polish priest Roman Shulz, who had served in Belarus since 2007. The Dominican friar also did not receive permission to continue his religious activities in Belarus and is due to leave the country in the coming days.
As LF reported, three Catholic priests, all Polish citizens who had served in Belarus for many years, are being forced to leave the country. The authorities refused to extend their permits for continued service. All of them served in the Diocese of Vitebsk.
As LF reported, two Polish Catholic priests who had served for many years in the Brest Region were forced to leave Belarus.
As LF reported, of the 16 Greek Catholic (Uniate) parishes previously registered in Belarus, four failed to complete mandatory re-registration. These were communities in Brest, Baranavichy, Ivatsevichy, all in the Brest Region, and Orsha.
Earlier, we reported that in the Brest Region, the authorities dissolved all parishes of the Greek Catholic Church. The court ruling referred to an alleged “threat to national interests.”
As LF reported, Catholic priest Anatoliy Parakhnevich, pastor of the parish in Olkovichi, Vileyka District, was detained. Earlier, state propaganda media had mentioned the priest in a negative context following his attendance at a reception marking Constitution Day of Poland, held at the Ukrainian Embassy in Minsk, attempting to portray his participation as suspicious.
It soon became known that Anatoliy Parakhnevich had suffered a heart attack. The 65-year-old cleric remains in pre-trial detention in serious condition. According to Belarusian believers, Parakhnevich is accused of “treason against the state.” There is no information about the specific grounds for the charge. It is believed that the priest is being held in a KGB detention facility.
As LF reported, in Belarus, the KGB has ordered the seizure and sale of the property of Catholic priest Henryk Okolotowicz. The cleric was convicted of “treason against the state” and released two years later following a request from the Vatican.
Earlier, a Catholic priest and two evangelical presbyters were detained in Belarus.
