In Belarus, Polish priests ‘increasingly not allowed to continue their work’
August 03, 2026
» Continue to this story on Forum 18
CWN Editor's Note: Archbishop Iosif Stanevsky of Minsk-Mogilev, Belarus, said that Polish priests “are increasingly not allowed” by the government to continue their ministry in the nation.
“Since January, the regime’s chief religious affairs official Aleksandr Rumak has refused bishops’ requests for at least a dozen Polish Catholic priests to be allowed to continue their religious service in the country,” Forum 18 reported. “Most had served for several decades, one—Fr Marian Szerszeń—for 36 years.”
In the aftermath of World War II, Poland’s Eastern Borderland region became part of the Soviet Union; much of that territory is now part of Belarus. The Eastern European nation of 9.5 million (map) is 82% Christian (63% Orthodox, 17% Catholic).
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