Persecution of believers in Belarus started long ago. The real reason for it is concurrence of other religious movements and directions to Russian Orthodox Church, which top-level Belarusian officials consider as a means that can serve promotion of their pro-Russian ideology. Most often religious persecution concerned representatives of non-traditional confessions, which were treated as sects. Now it also touches one of the oldest confessions in Belarus, Catholics. (11-JUN-2005)
At 7 p.m. on 30 May the police detained five Catholics who prayed for the return of the church and the monastery of Bernardins to believers at the stairs of these sacred places. The police composed on them reports for unauthorized picketing and in two hours let them go. In this case believers were treated like political activists. It means that the authorities persecute people not only for political activity, but for every kind of initiative.
We should remind that Belarusian Catholics demanded from the authorities to return to them Minsk St. Joseph Church and the monastery of Bernardins. At present the building of the church is occupied by the archive of scientific and technical documentation and the archive of the archive of literature and art of Belarus and the monastery is occupied by the military commandant’s headquarters. The believers have started services for the return of the Catholic shrines at their stairs.
