Salihorsk Catholics Defended Their Spiritual Leader

The authorities will not expel the Polish priest from Belarus.

The Belarusian authorities have canceled their previous decision not to renew their permission to Father Sobeslav Tomala from Salihorsk to serve.

This information was confirmed to nn.by by acting Press Secretary of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in Belarus, priest Yury Sanko.

The church received a fax from the Commissioner for Religious Affairs stating that Father Sobeslav’s permission to serve was extended for half a year.

Half a year is the usual term for such an extension. The church usually asks for an extension of stay for a year, and permits are sometimes issued for a year, sometimes for six months, and sometimes for three months.

The expulsion of Belarusian-speaking priests, even though they are Polish citizens, cause discontent of believers. As reported by the chairman of the parish council of the church of St. Francis in Salihorsk, a petition protesting the expulsion of Fr. Tomala have been signed by more than 300 residents. At the same time, three hundred Catholics of Vitsebsk signed a letter of protest against the expulsion of Father Pavel Knurek.

Vitsebsk residents do not perceive Pavel Knurek as a foreigner, since he “says a service, delivers sermons and speaks to people in a good Belarusian language,” knows Belarusian culture in every way and contributes to its development.

“We are convinced that for people who sow good, love and true faith, Belarus should always keep the door open. If it’s suddenly closed in front of someone, then, in our opinion, only harm and tension in society occurs,” – the address to Huliaka says.

At the pre-Christmas press conference, Bishop of Vitsebsk Aleh Butkevich drew attention to “certain difficulties in inviting clergymen from abroad, not only from Poland.”

Vacancies for priests in the Vitsebsk diocese cannot be taken by the Belarusian priests. Only two people from the diocese are currently studying at the preparatory courses in the seminary.

At the same time, over the past three years (2016–2018), the authorities have not given a single permission to foreigners, Catholic priests or nuns, to serve in the Vitsebsk diocese.

The desire of the authorities to reduce the number of priests, Polish citizens, in the country is seen behind such steps. At the same time, for example, the citizen of Russia, Pavel (Ponomarev), is an Orthodox metropolitan, although, under the law, he has to be a citizen of Belarus.