Lukashenko conveyed warm wishes to Pope Francis, expressing hope to meet him in future
At today’s meeting with representatives of Belarus’ religious denominations, President Aleksandr Lukashenko asked to convey his warm greetings to Pope Francis and expressed hope for a meeting with him in the future
Metropolitan of Minsk and Mogilev Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Belarus, Chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Belarus Jozef Staniewski thanked the Head of State on behalf of all the faithful for the help in restoring the Budslav Church after the fire in 2021. This church is a spiritual pearl for every Catholic in Belarus, the Metropolitan said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that Budslav is indeed a shrine and added that he would like to meet representatives of different confessions in their churches and religious institutions, “That’s why I suggest you think about where we could create worthy centres for our confessions... Dialogue and diversity build bridges – this is the idea of Francis [spiritual leader of Catholics and Head of State of Vatican City Pope Francis]. I have great respect for the Pope. Give him my very best wishes. This is a really tough man, a man who doesn’t just live and serve. He knows how to say what he thinks to people from all walks of life.”
The Belarusian leader also added that his ideas and views do not diverge from those of the Pope and expressed hope to meet him, “I think the time will come and we will definitely meet the Pope. I would like him to represent all segments of the population, all countries, both the very rich that are trying to monopolise the world and the poorer states that do not play such a gigantic role in shaping the current humanity.”
