“Gazetа Wyborczа”: Polish Priests Forced to Leave Belarus :: Charter'97 :: News

The 7 Polish catholic priests and 5 nuns have been working in different parishes of Hrodna Diocese for about ten years, have been refused annual visa renewal, “Gazetа Wyborczа” was told by the representative of the Conference of the Catholic Bishops in Hrodna, priest Antony Gremza. They have been ordered to leave Belarus by 2007.

“Priests are still working in their dioceses until the year 2007. However their applications for visas for the next year were denied. Curia has submitted a complaint to the Committee for Religious and Ethnic Affairs in Minsk. We are waiting for an answer,” Father Antony Gremza said.

Bishop Aleksander Kaszkiewicz, on 26 September, appealed to the faithful of the Diocese to say the rosary and parish prayers throughout October for "law-abiding priests and nuns who have not received permission from the Committee for Religious and Ethnic Affairs in Minsk to continue their religious activity from 1 January 2007," according to Hrodna Catholic Cathedral’s website. Catholics in Hrodna region have begun to gather signatures for a petition in support of the Polish priests and nuns.

According to 2005 state figures, there were 170 Catholic parishes in Hrodna region supported by 168 clergy, of whom 72 were foreign citizens.

Of the 354 or so Catholic priests in Belarus, more than half (170) are foreign citizens, mostly Poles.