Archbishop of Minsk returns to Belarus after forced exile in Poland
Archbishop of Minsk Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz at a mass in April 2013. AP - Sergei Grits
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He had been in forced exile since August 31 in Poland.
The head of the Belarusian Catholic Church was able to return in time to celebrate Christmas Mass in Minsk.
Bishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz had been declared persona non grata by the Belarusian authorities, three weeks after the start of the protest against Alexander Lukashenko.
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The Pope had sent several special envoys to Minsk in recent months, including the former nuncio of Belarus, Bishop Claudio Gugerotti, to try to unblock the situation.
Despite having Belarusian citizenship, Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz had been deprived of his passport and was unable to return to his country after a trip to Poland.
No official explanation had been given for the refusal of entry, but the Belarusian president said at the time that the archbishop "had received instructions in Poland on how to destroy the country".
Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz had sided with
the anti-Lukashenko demonstrators
, criticizing the repression of the protest movement and going so far as to denounce a “
rigged
”
presidential election
.
Statements that contrasted with those, much more timid of most of the country's Orthodox officials.
If orthodoxy constitutes the majority denomination, Catholics still represent nearly a million and a half of faithful in the country.
Since his return, the prelate has been discreet, preparing himself out of sight and out of protest, for Christmas masses in the Catholic Cathedral of St. Mary in Minsk.
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Belarus
Alexander Lukashenko
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