Belarus confirms invitation for the Pope to visit the country

Папу римского ожидают в Беларуси. Фото: img.huffingtonpost.com

The invitation to Pope Francis to come to Belarus remains in force, said Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei at a meeting with the Secretary of the Vatican State Secretariat Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, who arrived in Minsk on September 11, 2020 on a working visit, Interfax reports.

“I would like to convey to Pope Francis that the invitation to visit Belarus remains valid,” Makei told the Vatican representative and recalled that President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko had paid an official visit to the Vatican twice.

The head of the Foreign Ministry called the visit of the Archbishop of the RCC to Minsk, which will last until September 14, "confirmation of the existence of special relations, mutual understanding and trust between Belarus and the Holy See."

“We are satisfied with the dynamics of the development of contacts at the highest and high levels between Belarus and the Vatican lately,” said Vladimir Makei.

As the UOJ reported, on August 31, 2020, Belarusian border guards did not allow the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Belarus, Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, who was returning from Poland, into the country. The next day, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said that Kondrusiewicz "received certain tasks" in Poland, which is why he was not allowed back into the republic.

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