Catholic clergy in Minsk: Lukashenka pushing for meeting of Patriarch Kirill, Pope Francis in Belarus


Belarus president Alyaksandr Lukashenka has met with the participants of the annual Plenary Assembly of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE) in Minsk on Thursday.

According to him, the visit of the high-ranking Catholic clergy to Minsk is recognition of Belarus’ policy of peace and accord.

“Today Belarus is not just the geographical center of Europe. This is a God’s gift. For many centuries Belarus has been the country where different religions coexist in harmony. Their interaction has had a strong impact on the formation of the Belarusian nation, its cultural and spiritual development,” he said.

The hosting of the CCEE Plenary Assembly in Belarus exactly in this period is very symbolic, Lukashenka stressed and recalled that in 2017 the country celebrates the 500th anniversary of the first old-Belarusian printed book – Skaryna’s Psalter.

The Belarusian leader has reiterated his readiness to organize a meeting between Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis in Minsk.

“We talked about the results of the meeting between the Pope and Patriarch Kirill, which took place somewhere far away, in Cuba. I think we should consider their meeting here, in Minsk. This is the place where the problems of the West and the East, the North and the South can be discussed. If you reach the understanding with the Orthodox Church, I and the Belarusian people will do everything necessary for you, your heads and our heads of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches to make this meeting in Minsk a historical one. Think about it,” the president said.

As reported earlier, Alyaksandr Lukashenka is striving for making Belarus a negotiation venue and improving its role on the global stage. The desire of the Belarusian authorities to become Helsinki-2 and to maintain a monopoly in the Minsk negotiations on Donbas was expressed at a meeting on foreign policy held in Minsk on July 11.

belsat.eu, following BelTA

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