Head of the Vatican Press Hall Matteo Bruni has published a statement on Belarus. It was a response to numerous requests from journalists, writes the Belarusian editorial board of Vatican News.
“The Holy See continues to closely follow the situation in Belarus and the steps that are being taken by various stakeholders, remaining committed to achieving democratic and peaceful ways to fulfill the legitimate demands of the Belarusian people,” reads the official statement.
Last week, the working group “Khrystsianskaya viziia” of the Coordinating Council reported about the authorities’ pressure on representatives of the Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant churches in Belarus.
“Special services and power structures of the republican and local level carry out full-scale checks of the activity of religious organizations and priests, pressure the heads of religious associations insisting they put pressure on ordinary priests, including the content of their sermons; they also receive requests for lists of “unreliable” priests; those who have been active in any way in the conditions of the social and political crisis – participated in peaceful protests, made video clips, took part in wars, etc.
Among the Belarusian political prisoners, there are also Catholics, such as the mother of many children Volha Zalatar, detainees in the “Polish case,” and others. Activist Vitold Ashurok, who died in the Shklou colony, was also a Catholic.
belsat.eu
