{"id":201678,"date":"2026-08-28T23:58:32","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T20:58:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/201678\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T00:12:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T21:12:48","slug":"belarus-to-expel-veteran-catholic-priest","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/201678\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarus to expel veteran Catholic priest"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\n Priest Janusz Pulita\n <\/div>\n \n
\n (catholic.by)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

August 28, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> Belarusian authorities have refused to extend a permit for long-serving Roman Catholic priest Janusz Pulita, a citizen of Poland, to continue his ministry in Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In comments on the Pinsk Diocese\u2019s website, Bishop Antonij Dziamjanka describes Pulita as a clergyman who had \u201cselflessly responded to a call by Cardinal Kazimierz \u015awi\u0105tek\u201d and the leaders of his monastic order and \u201cdevoted more than 32 years to ministering believers in our land.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dziamjanka says that it is very difficult for the Pinsk Diocese to meet all the pastoral needs of its parishioners from Brest to Homiel, with a very small body of Belarusian clergy and with clergymen who served in the diocese for a long time leaving Belarus \u201cnot of their own free will.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chry\u015bcijanskaja Vizija reported on August 16 that a new group of Polish Catholic priests, 11 clergymen in the Minsk\u2011Mahilio\u016d Archdiocese, may have to leave Belarus because they had been denied permission by the religious affairs commissioner to continue their ministry, while some had been granted only short extensions.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Archbishop Iosif Stanie\u016dski, who heads the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Belarus, reportedly appealed to Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka to reverse the commissioner\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an interview with Vatican News<\/em> on May 28, Stanie\u016dski noted that the number of Catholic clergy in Belarus is gradually decreasing, especially in the eastern regions. In the Mahilo\u016d region, a priest is often forced to serve three parishes, \u201ctraveling hundreds of kilometers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities keep refusing to extend permits for Polish priests who had served in Belarus for decades, further worsening the shortage, Stanie\u016dski said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On May 20, Chry\u015bcijanskaja Vizija reported that five Catholic priests and one monk of the Minsk\u2013Mahilo\u016d Archdiocese, all Polish citizens, had been denied permit extension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier, Belarusian authorities had refused to allow three Polish Catholic priests in the Viciebsk Diocese to continue their ministry, as well as two priests in the Pinsk Diocese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many leaders of religious communities in Belarus and rank-and-file believers have faced politically motivated persecution after speaking out during the crisis that erupted following the 2020 presidential election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2023, \u0141uka\u0161enka expanded the grounds for dissolving religious organizations and banned religious associations from expressing political positions that diverge from the official line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least 95 Christian ministers, including 37 Catholics, 29 Protestants, 21 Orthodox Christians and five Greek Catholics, faced some form of politically motivated persecution in Belarus between late 2020 and July 2026, according to Chry\u015bcijanskaja Vizija.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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