Polish ambassador expecting explanations over Belarusian authorities’ allegations against Catholic clergy

Leszek Szerepka, Poland`s ambassador to Belarus, said Thursday that Leanid Hulyaka, the Belarusian government’s commissioner on religious and ethnic affairs, should provide explanations over his controversial remarks about Roman Catholic priests from Poland.

Speaking to reporters in Homyel, Mr. Szerepka said that he did not know anything about offenses allegedly committed by Polish priests in Belarus and expected Mr. Hulyaka to name specific names to set the record straight. He noted that the Polish government was not involved in the activities of the Roman Catholic Church. Church affairs are the responsibility of its local bishops and the Holy See’s nuncio, he said.

Mr. Szerepka is staying in Homyel to attend the opening ceremony for an exhibition of prominent Polish contemporary artist Andrzej Strumillo in the 18th-century Rumyantsev-Paskevich Palace. Mr. Szerepka had meetings on Thursday with top-ranking officials of the city and regional governments and with students of Homyel State University.

When asked by reporters about the prospects of economic partnership between Poland and the Homyel region, Mr. Szerepka described the woodworking industry as a promising area of cooperation. He noted that Poland was the largest furniture supplier in the European Union.

While meeting with other officials dealing with religious and ethnic affairs on January 22, Mr. Hulyaka alleged that some clergymen from Poland "don’t like our country, our laws, leadership” and try to do politics themselves.

He said that some foreign clergy violated regulations by conducting religious services outside of their jurisdictions. There are also instances of Catholic priests, mainly citizens of Poland, committing civil offenses, Mr. Hulyaka said.

During his news conference on January 29, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said, without elaborating, that there were petty offenders and serious criminals among both the Orthodox and the Catholic clergy.

Mr. Lukashenka expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of some Catholic clergymen. “I told the former Pope that they sometimes do what they shouldn’t be doing,” he explained. “I said this to our [previous] head of the Catholic Church, Kazimierz Swiatek. He was a completely sober person who understood what he was doing and where he lived.”

According to Mr. Lukashenka, he always tells the Pope’s representatives that the Catholic Church in Belarus should have more Belarusian priests.

Several days ago, the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Belarus issued a statement accusing Belarusian authorities of insulting the Roman Catholic Church and enflaming national and religious tensions.