LUKASHENKO:
IN
BELARUS CATHOLIC CHURCHES HAVE FUNCTIONED AND THEY WILL FUNCTION
In
Belarus, Catholics
have functioned and they will function. Belarusian President
Alexander
Lukashenko declared this to journalists today, a correspondent
for BELTA has
transmitted.
The head
of state
emphasized that each Belarusian must have his own road to the
church. He
declared that he would not permit any attack on any kind of
church in the
country.
The
president said
that inter-confessional peace is the pride of Belarus.
Journalists
questioned
why yesterday Metropolitan of Minsk and Mogilev Archbishop
Tadeusz
Kondrusevich was unable to enter Belarus and none of the
agencies will comment
on this situation. In connection with this the head of state
emphasized that
this matter is now being carefully studied.
"I
cannot say
that I have complete information; it is continually changing. We
are now
closely monitoring all persons entering and exiting [the
country—tr.],"
Alexander Lukashenko emphasized.
The
president
described how the head of the Catholic Church suddenly left for
consultations
in Warsaw and, after receiving certain assignments, returned to
Belarus and
wound up on the no-entry list, which Belarus and Russia share in
common.
"He's not the only one. It is simply that he is the better known
figure,"
Alexander Lukashenko explained, saying that information had
appeared about the
possibility that Tadeusz Kondrusevich has more than one
citizenship. "We
are investigating; I am not confirming this. We want to study
the question. If
everything there is clear and according to the law, we will act
according to
the law. It doesn't matter to us who he is, the head Catholic,
the head
Orthodox, or the head Muslim. He must live according to the law.
And if you
also butt into politics and drag in after you believers,
Catholics, who are
wonderful people, then you are doubly responsible," the head of
state
noted.
"Have a
look. We
did not close Catholic churches, even if they were conducting
anti-Lukashenko
and anti-state propaganda," the president continued. "We did not
close them. On the contrary, we are trying to support and defend
them. You saw
this on the square (Independence Square, where the Red Church is
located—BELTA
note). Sure, there was fake news that we did not allow people
into the Catholic
church," Alexander Lukashenko continued, referring to
representatives of
OMON to the effect that they were protecting those who were
praying in the
church from the crowd of demonstrators.
"No
matter the
personalities there (Kondrusevich, Lukashenko, and the like),
the Catholic
churches were functioning and will function, because prayer, and
believers, and
their road to the church—this is sacred. I have always said that
each
Belarusian must have his own path to the church and we will
sacredly observe
this," Alexander Lukashenko assured.
The head
of state
also noted: "We never will permit any attack by the state on a
Catholic or
Orthodox church, on Muslims or Jews—whoever it may be. Because
that is our
pride—confessional peace, ethnic peace. We have always prided
ourselves on this
and we will pride ourselves."
At the
same time the
president expressed the opinion: "All of this will pass. Here
they're
marching along the streets and saying that there's half a
million of them, a
million, and the government will fall. Listen, if there were a
million, I
wouldn't be here talking with you." (tr. by PDS, posted 1
September 2020)
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