“No reasons have been given. All we know is they’ve been denied consent to carry out further religious functions here,” Aleksander Amialchenia, press officer for Belarus’ Catholic bishops’ conference, told Ecumenical News International.
“Talks are in progress, and it’s important the issue is tackled through dialogue rather than conflict and pressure,” Amialchenia said in a January 11 interview. “Although there are problems and misunderstandings, we’re hopeful we’ll make progress in resolving them.”
The Roman Catholic priest was speaking as three Polish clergy prepared to return home after being denied work permits by the Belarus government’s Religious Affairs Committee.
Amialchenia said the priests had valid residence cards and that media reports that they had been expelled were incorrect. However, the priests would be required to return to Poland if they wished to appeal against the decision or lodge fresh work permit applications, he confirmed.
Polish priests currently make up half of all Roman Catholic clergy in Belarus, he said. However, several clergy from Lithuania and other countries were also working in the republic, and Amialchenia said Polish newspapers had “reacted emotionally” by suggesting the restrictions were “aimed exclusively” against Polish pastors
“There are complex problems here, which we shouldn’t simplify or generalize about,” Amialchenia said.
Andrzej Zylewicz, a leader of the Catholic Capuchin Franciscan order in Belarus, said he believed the Belarus authorities had objected to the Polish priests’ conducting of pastoral work in the Polish language.
Catholics make up about 17 percent of Belarus’ population of 9.64 million, and have often complained of discrimination under President Aleksandr Lukashenko, who was re-elected in March 2006 amid claims of ballot rigging and intimidation. Most of the country’s citizens are Orthodox Christians.
The online news agency of the Catholic Church in Belarus, Catholic.by, said four Polish priests and six nuns had also been refused extensions to their work permits a year ago after coming to help in the country’s 480 Roman Catholic parishes.
Belarus’ Catholic archbishop, Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, said he saw “no concrete reasons at all” for the restrictions. “Of course, monks and sisters who come to Belarus from abroad should have a good knowledge of local culture and learn the language – it’s a condition,” the archbishop was quoted as saying by Catholic.by. “But it’s only through dialogue that anything can be achieved.”
