Lukashenko added: The Pope removed the archbishop who supported Belomaidan
Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk, who last summer supported the Belomaidan participants, after which he was banned from entering Belarus for several months. The official reason for resignation was reaching the age limit of 75 years. This was reported by VaticanNews, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
It is noteworthy that the leadership is still being transferred to the Vicar General of the Pinsk Roman Catholic Diocese, Bishop Kazimir Velikoselets, who is also 75 years old.
According to canon law, a Catholic bishop who has reached the age of 75 must ask the pope to relieve him of his duties. The Pontiff may or may not accept it. The Vatican decided not to detain the Belarusian archbishop.
Kondrusiewicz found himself at the center of a scandal last year when he supported protests in Minsk in August. After that he was included in the list of prohibited entry, although he is a citizen of Belarus for supporting the protests (the prelate’s passport was revoked). The Vatican conducted long negotiations with the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, which were crowned with success only on the eve of Catholic Christmas.
Kondrusevich was allowed to return, and he served two services in the main church of Minsk, where the opposition crowd packed in and gave a thunderous ovation. However, the prelate himself in his sermon called for peace and dialogue. But state Belarusian television refused to broadcast even such speeches. Even today, on the day of his resignation, the Belarusian opposition continues to demonstrate its support for Kondrusiewicz by posting congratulatory videos online.
The new leadership of the RCC in Belarus will be coordinated with the Belarusian authorities, political scientist Alexander Shpakovsky, close to the Lukashenko administration, writes in his telegram channel. “The tasks of the Belarusian state to minimize Polish influence and depoliticize the church remain the same,” Shpakovsky wrote.
At the same time, the Belarusian president is flirting with the pontiff himself in every possible way. On the eve of Catholic Christmas, Lukashenko sent congratulations to the pope, in which he indicated that he was counting on his prayer and personal meeting. He previously called Francis "the best pope" he has ever known.
Liberal Russian political scientist Stanislav Belkovsky believes that Lukashenko wants to use Francis in his negotiations with the new American administration in order to bargain for security guarantees.
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