Since this past 31 August, H. E. Monsignor Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, Archbishop of Minsk and President of the Belarusian Conference of Catholic Bishops, after returning from a journey to Poland where he participated in celebrations in honour of Our Lady of Częstochowa, has been prevented from returning to his country
The CCEE Presidency expresses the closeness of the entire European Episcopate to Monsignor Kondrusiewicz and to the Church in Belarus in this delicate matter and makes their own the appeal of Pope Francis “to dialogue, the rejection of violence and respect for justice and law”. And, together with the Pope, entrust “all Belarusians to the protection of Our Lady, Queen of Peace”.
While ensuring their own prayers for the beloved pastor and for the whole Belarusian community, they hope for an immediate return home for the Archbishop of Minsk and a resumption of his episcopal ministry. They encourage everyone to commit themselves to peacefully resolve the conflict and to pursue, with confidence, the path of dialogue for the good of man and of society as a whole.
Saint Gallen, 3 September 2020