On Aug. 31, border authorities barred Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, archbishop of Minsk, from returning to Belarus after a trip to Poland.
He was exiled for defending protesters calling for political transparency following the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power for 26 years.
Pope Francis has followed the tense situation closely from the start.
POPE FRANCIS
August 16, 2020
“I am closely following the post-electoral situation in this country, and I call for dialogue, the rejection of violence and respect for justice and the law.”
On Sept. 11, Vatican Secretary of Relations with States, Msgr. Paul Richard Gallagher, traveled to Belarus to convey the pope's closeness to the Catholic Church and the entire country.
More recently, on Dec. 17, the Vatican confirmed that Msgr. Claudio Gugerotti, former nuncio in Belarus, met with President Lukashenko on the pope's behalf. He delivered a letter to the president in which the pope expressed concern for the tumultuous situation and asked Lukashenko to allow Kondrusiewicz to return to Belarus before Christmas.
Finally, on Dec. 22, state authorities announced that there are no more obstacles preventing Kondrusiewicz from returning to Minsk.
CT
