❗❗ Belarusian Catholic priests Fr. Henryk Okolotowicz and Fr. Andrzej Juchniewicz, recently released from imprisonment in Belarus🇧🇾, have arrived in the Vatican 🇻🇦 for a visit. Their presence in Rome became known shortly after news of their release, although no official statements have yet been issued regarding their future or the possibility of returning to Belarus. Both priests consistently denied the criminal accusations brought against them, and their trials are widely regarded as unjust and politically motivated. During their detention, the priests were reportedly subjected to torture and inhumane treatment. Earlier, credible sources reported that Fr. Okolotowicz was pressured to take part in a provocation against the Apostolic Nuncio in Belarus, which he refused. The release came shortly after the official visit to Belarus by the 🇻🇦Holy See’s representative, Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, including his meeting with 🇧🇾 Aliaksandr Lukashenka. Further announcements regarding the priests’ status are expected. Belarusian Catholic priests Fr. Henryk Okolotowicz and Fr. Andrzej Juchniewicz, recently released from imprisonment in Belarus, have arrived in the Vatican for a visit. Their presence in Rome became known shortly after news of their release, although no official statements have yet been issued regarding their future or the possibility of returning to Belarus. Both priests consistently denied the criminal accusations brought against them, and their trials are widely regarded as unjust and politically motivated. During their detention, the priests were reportedly subjected to torture and inhumane treatment. Earlier, credible sources reported that Fr. Okolotowicz was pressured to take part in a provocation against the Apostolic Nuncio in Belarus, which he refused. The release came shortly after the official visit to Belarus by the 🇻🇦 Holy See’s representative, Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, including his meeting with 🇧🇾 Aliaksandr Lukashenka. Further announcements regarding the priests’ status are expected.

Nuns from Minsk continue to collect money in Europe for Russian troops in Ukraine. In recent years, visitors to French churches and cathedrals may have come across Belarusian nuns selling matryoshka dolls, religious icons and honey. They come from the Saint Elisabeth Convent in Minsk and present these sales as a means of funding their charitable work. However, the convent openly supports Russia’s war in Ukraine and has helped collect supplies for Russian soldiers. Natallia Vasilevich @burbalka, a Belarusian theologian in exile and the founder of Christian Vision, tells @RFI that the Saint Elisabeth Convent runs fundraising campaigns for Russian military personnel. Christian Vision has gathered publications from the convent and its partner groups documenting examples. Some of these fundraising operations are channelled through a group called Aid to the Brothers, coordinated by the convent's Sister Alexandra, who assists the Russian military by purchasing requested equipment. However, the convent's involvement goes beyond sending supplies. Vasilevich reports that it is encouraging vulnerable men, notably former prisoners, to join the Russian army. "They tell them these stories with great enthusiasm: 'look, our brother went off to fight, he died over there and became a hero', whereas he could have been a homeless alcoholic who died in a gutter." Christian Vision has alerted church leaders in France to the group's activities. According to Vasilevich, the number of communities willing to welcome the nuns has since fallen. However, she questions why European countries continue to grant the nuns visas, given that Belarusians currently find it difficult to obtain a permit to enter the Schengen zone. "The question is, why? Why does no one check, when they cross the border, what they are carrying, or whether the use being made of these visas actually corresponds to the reason they were issued, given the various threats Europe is currently facing?"