Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 22 July (BelTA) – Catholic bishops in Belarus maintain a meaningful dialogue with Belarus’ authorities and the Belarusian Orthodox Church, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran told the French service of Vatican Radio following his visit to Belarus, BelTA has learnt.

“I have seen that the dialogue of bishops with the Orthodox Church and authorities is rather positive,” the cardinal said.

He spoke about the meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko: “I had an opportunity to meet with the Belarusian President. We talked for several hours about the problems facing the Catholic Church and about international issues. At the end of the conversation he said that he instructed to provide a land plot to construct Belarus’ first Catholic institution of higher learning (Catholic Religious and Educational Center – BelTA’s note). I would say that it is a definite decision”.

Speaking about the issues facing the Roman Catholic Church in Belarus, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran noted that there is a lack of priests and there are issues related to the training of the clergy: “Local seminaries are strongly influenced by Poland; young priests are sent to Poland to receive further education. Therefore, when a Catholic institution of high learning is established in Belarus, priests will no longer have to leave the country to get education. It is very important”.

The cardinal also said that his mission had both a political and religious agenda. “I delivered a message of spiritual support for Catholic believers. I wanted to show that Christians pose no threat to the society, quite the opposite, they make a positive contribution. That was one of the topics discussed with the President. The head of state showed interest in this approach”.