Belarus Has Largest Number Of Arrested Catholic Priests

In second place after Nicaragua.

Belarus and Nicaragua top the list for the number of arrested Catholic priests in the world in 2023. Such data are provided by the Aid to the Church in Need papal foundation (ACN).

“Nicaragua and Belarus lead the list of authoritarian regimes that have resorted to detaining priests and religious in order to punish the Church for speaking out against injustices and human rights violations, or merely for trying to operate freely,” the report reads.

It is reported that the Belarusian authorities have detained at least 10 priests, three of whom are still behind bars at the end of the year. In Nicaragua, 46 clergymen were arrested in 2023.

China is also in the lead, according to unconfirmed data from ACN.

“Even if proving the information is almost impossible, ACN numbers point to 20 cases of clergy under arrest at some point in 2023 in China, some of whom remain unaccounted for after many years. But the true number could be higher, or even slightly lower, as some priests or bishops may have been released without details,” according to ACN.

Fathers Ivan Levitskyi and Bohdan Heleta, the two Greek Catholic priests who were arrested in Ukraine in 2022 by occupying Russian forces, have also not yet been released.

According to the information provided, a total of 132 Catholic priests and believers were arrested, kidnapped or killed in 2023. This represents an increase from 124 in 2022.

"These are, however, the confirmed cases, the number could be higher since in some countries reliable information is difficult to obtain," ACN said.

Recall that there are also cases of non-renewal of a residence permit in Belarus, detention of priests for "distribution of extremist materials", "unauthorized picketing". Since September 2022, the religious community of Minsk has been denied access to the Red Church. The 70-year-old abbot of St. Joseph's Church in Valozhyn, Henryh Akalotavich, was detained under Part 1 of Article 356 of the Criminal Code "treason against the state", according to Khrystsiianskaia Viziya.