BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

19/12/2008

Archbishop worried over Belarus' refusal to extend visas for Catholic priests

Minsk, December 19, Interfax - Catholic Archbishop of Minsk and Mogilev Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz has said he is concerned about the Belarusian authorities' refusal to extend visas for three Catholic priests of the Grodno diocese.

"Believers will be the first to suffer if Catholic priests are expelled," Kondrusiewicz told journalists on Friday.

"There are not enough Catholic priests in Belarus. There are 440 [Catholic priests] today. Belarus has a Catholic population of 1.5 million. Ideally, there should be one priest per 1,000 believers," the Archbishop said.

Kondrusiewicz said he had asked the Confederation of Catholic Bishops in Slovakia to send Catholic priests to Belarus. But no one wants to work in Belarus, he said.

"It is not our goal to ensure that only Polish clergymen serve in Belarus," he added.

Source:

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=5537

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