MInsk (CNS): After almost four months in exile, Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk returned to the capital of Belarus and his cathedral in time to celebrate Christmas.
The Vatican nuncio to the country, Archbishop Ante Jozic, former head of the Holy See Study Mission in Hong Kong, said on 22 December 2020 that the government informed him that “Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz has no obstacles to return to the territory of the Republic of Belarus.”
Archbishop Kondrusiewicz, president of the Bishops’ Conference of Belarus, had been banned from entering the country since late August.
Archbishop Jozic said, “The apostolic nunciature expresses its gratitude to the state authorities of Belarus for responding positively to Pope Francis’ request to return Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz to celebrate the Nativity of the Lord with the faithful of which he is pastor.”
Pope Francis had sent Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, nuncio to Great Britain and former nuncio to Belarus, to the East European nation to meet with its embattled president, Alexander Lukashenko.
The Vatican press office had said on December 17 that Archbishop Gugerotti was sent “to express the Holy Father’s solicitude and concern for the present situation in the country.”
Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, was declared the winner of a new election 9 August 2020; the government said he won more than 80 per cent of votes, a claim that triggered allegations of fraud, set off widespread demonstrations that continue and a police crackdown that led many opposition leaders to flee the country (Sunday Examiner, 16 August 2020).
Archbishop Kondrusiewicz, who had gone to Poland for celebrations of Our Lady of Czestochowa was blocked from reentering Belarus on August 31 (Sunday Examiner, 6 September 2020). Two weeks later, the Belarusian Interior Ministry confirmed the archbishop’s passport had been cancelled to prevent its “unjustified use,” but said his Belarusian citizenship remained valid.
The country’s foreign affairs minister, Vladimir Makei, confirmed to reporters on December 22, that Archbishop Gugerotti had brought a letter from the pope to Lukashenko specifically requesting that Archbishop Kondrusiewicz be allowed to return.
“Out of deepest respect for the pope and because of (their) good personal relations, the Belarusian head of state considered it possible to meet the pope’s request and gave an instruction to find a solution to the issue, taking into account all available legal mechanisms,” Makei said, according to the Belarusian government news agency, BelTA.
Just after crossing the border from Poland into Belarus on December 24, Archbishop Kondrusiewicz said he stopped the car, got out, knelt, “thanked God for returning and kissed the ground.”
