Two Catholic priests were not granted an extension to serve in Belarus. Six parishes in three districts are left without pastors
Two Polish priests who have served for many years in the Brest region are forced to leave Belarus. As Bishop Antoni Dziemiańka of Pinsk reported via the diocesan website in his address to the faithful, the Pinsk Diocese did not receive approval from state authorities for the priests' continued service. On March 8, they bid farewell in their parishes, writes Katolik.news.
Priest Adam Straczynski, who served as a pastor in Ivatsevichy, Kosava, and Volka for 11 years, and Priest Paweł Kruczek, who served for 13 years in Ivanava, Drahichyn, and Bezdezh, did not receive permission for further work. Thus, six parishes in three districts (Drahichyn, Ivanava, and Ivatsevichy) were immediately left without priests.
Ordinary Antoni Dziemiańka noted that, under such circumstances, it is very difficult for the diocese to provide all parish communities with regular pastoral care.
“Today we are experiencing a period when there are not enough local pastors. We pray for vocations to priestly service and support our seminarians. The longtime parish priest is leaving your parishes not of his own will. This is a pain for all of us. But we — bishops and priests — will help and support you,” the hierarch addressed the faithful of the six parishes left without pastors.
Vicar General of the diocese, Bishop Andrej Znoska, also commented on this topic. On his Instagram page, he said that during a visit to Homiel (Gomel), he shared his feelings about the departure of two priests from the Pinsk Diocese, whose permits for religious activity were not approved:
“The forced departure of Father Paweł from Ivanava and Father Adam from Ivatsevichy is a great misfortune for our diocese, as the faithful of three districts have been orphaned and left without pastoral care, and what to do next — I don't know… Only the prayer of the Church community brings comfort in sorrow and adds hope.”
In the Pinsk Diocese, due to a severe shortage of priests, many priests are forced to serve several parishes at once in different, often remote, settlements.
The denial of permission for the two priests to continue their service occurred against the backdrop of active cooperation between the diocese's leadership and local state authorities, and the clergy's participation in pro-government events, even on the occasion of "National Unity Day" on September 17 — the annexation of Western Belarus to the BSSR, which had catastrophic consequences for the Catholic Church in this region.
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