Seven Polish Priests Aren’t Premitted to Continue Their Service in Belarus

According to the information that was provided to the Polish weekly Gazeta Wyborcza by the Belarusian priest Antoni Hremza, the seven Polish priests who serve masses at Hrodna diocese and five nuns didn’t receive the official permission to continue their work in the following year.

‘The priests will work in their parishes of Hrodna curacy till the end of the year. However, we have received a negative answer to our request to prolong the term of their stay. The curacy has already filed a complaint with the committee on religious affairs and national minorities that issues such permissions. Now we are waiting for the answer’, priest Hremza said.

On Sunday in the Catholic churches there was read a letter of Hrodna bishop Aliaksandr Kashkevich with the urge to pray for the priests and nuns who were denied the possibility to continue their service in Belarus. Believers collect signatures under the letter of support to them. According to Antoni Hremza Hrodna diocese has about 170 parishes where almost 70 priests from Poland serve masses. Among 354 Catholic priests of Belarus 170 are foreigners, mainly Poles.