The head of the Belarusian Catholics, Metropolitan of Minsk-Mogilev Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, who returned to the country on December 24 after the ban on entry, called the expulsion from its borders his “cross”. The Belarusian portal Tut.by writes about it.
According to the metropolitan, before his Belarusian passport was canceled, he was forced to leave for Poland due to health problems. “Last year I underwent a very difficult operation to stabilize the spine. And I was ordered to come from time to time,” Kondrusevich explained.
The priest noted that during the ban on entering the country, he was engaged in pastoral activities. At the same time, he indicated that he had never opposed Belarus and called it his homeland. Kondrusevich added that he cried when he entered the republic again. “I asked the driver to stop, knelt down, thanked God for returning, kissed the ground. This is my land!” – said the Metropolitan.
He also compared his exile with the “cross” that he had to carry. He also thanked everyone who contributed to his return, as well as the believers who prayed for it.
The President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko promised to solve the problem with the entry of the 75-year-old Metropolitan after having met with the Pope’s representative Apostolic Nuncio in Great Britain, Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti a >.
Earlier Lukashenko accused Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of intending to “destroy the country”. The politician said that the priest spied against Minsk on behalf of the Polish authorities. In late August, the head of the Belarusian Catholics condemned the actions of the OMON, which locked the protesters in the Red Church in Minsk during the dispersal of the protest action. Later, Kondrusevich’s Belarusian passport was canceled and he was included in the list of those prohibited from entering.