Russian mass media: Lukashenka’s initiatives could end in total fiasco
- 12.05.2009, 11:24
The initiative of Belarusian authorities to organize a meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow might not take place, “Novye Izvestiya” notes today.
Last Sunday deputy chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Departments for External Church relations archpriest Georgy Ryabykh stated that the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church do not need any intermediary. Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s reaction to that was extremely sharp. However, Vatican does not leave hope however to implement a mediation project. A state secretary of the pope, Cardinal Torcisio Bertone was sent to Minsk again.
Close ties between the Holy See and Minsk started to be established in summer last year during the first visit of the State Secretary of Vatican Cardinal Torcisio Bertone to Belarus, the nerwspaper reminds. Through him Alyaksandr Lukashenka passed an official invitation to Pope Benedict XVI to visit the country “at a time which suits you”. However he hasn’t find “convenient time” so far. And last month the Belarusian president put forward an initiative to organize a meeting of the heads of the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churched in his country.
This idea was initially enthusiastically supported by representatives of the Catholic Church in Belarus. It should be noted that Catholics who make 20% of the country’s population, mostly live in the west of the country: in Hrodna and Brest regions. Over the last 15 years the official Minsk many times charged Catholic priests coming here from Poland of “disloyalty”. It usually ended in deportation of unwelcome priests. Besides, Catholics were often denied permissions for building a new church in Hrodna. It was allowed only I the beginning of this year. In the new Lukashenka’s initiative Belarusian Catholics saw a chance to draw a line under old conflicts. Moreover, right after that statement made by the Belarusian leader, Pope Benedict XVI received him. Official Minsk mass media started a wide PR campaign around “uniting role of the Belarusian president in rapprochement of the Catholics and the Orthodox”.
However, Russia decided to dissociate itself from this project. The deputy head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Departments for External Church relations archpriest Georgy Ryabykh stated that Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church have possibilities to carry out “direct harmonization of these issues.” The priest has also reminded that the ROC still believes that the meeting of the heads of the two churches “should be prepared carefully and take place not for an external effect, but to contribute to real lifting problems of expansion of Uniates among Orthodox nations, and any forms of proselytism”.
Lukashenka’s response was immediate and harsh. On the same day, visiting the city of Slonim Minks region, he stated (almost like Viktor Chernomyrdin on a different occasion) that “If somebody in Russia has an itch somewhere, go scratching in a different place”. And continued: “A man who does not see reality is blind. And the reality is, that Belarus takes the second position after Lithuania according the number of Catholics in the post-Soviet countries”.
And Vatican is not going to draw the line in this issue so far. In a few days Minsk is to be visited by Cardinal Bertone again. As informed by Belarusian mass media, further prospects of the project of the meeting between to Pope Benedict XVI and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow. Yesterday the Belarusian exarchate of the ROC couldn’t answer the question of “Novye Izvestiya” whether this idea should be buried in the present situation. The spokesperson, priest Andrei Petrashkevich, offered to follow the course of developments. “The exarchate is a structure of the Moscow Patriarchate, and we are to coordinate all our actions with Moscow,” Petrashkevich is quoted by the “Novye Izvestiya” as saying.