BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

25/12/2006

Mixed State Response To Catholic and Protestant Protests in Belarus

Catholics in Belarus have halted a hunger strike, after receiving endorsement for church construction from the Grodno city administration, ASSIST News Service reports. According to Forum 18 News Service, Parish priest Fr Aleksandr Shemet stressed the Church has not received permission to build, but permission to "gather documents" and "ask for final permission from the President." Parishioners are praying for all Belarusian churches without a building and for the 12 Polish Catholic priests and nuns refused permission to work in Belarus after December 31, 2006. "We want not only the Catholic Church, but all Christians to be able to practice their religion freely," Fr Shemet remarked. "So we will pray that believers are not afraid to demand their rights." The 12 priests and nuns have been denied permission to continue working in Belarus, despite appeals from 12,000 people including Catholic bishops.

Source:

http://www.crosswalk.com/news/religiontoday/1459455.html