(OSV News): Leaders of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate have deplored an information blackout surrounding the arrest of two of their priests in Belarus.
“No one from the Catholic Church was represented at their court hearing, and no details or access were provided,” said Father Pawel Gomulak, spokesperson for the congregation’s Polish province.
“We’re still seeking reliable information about their current status and detention conditions, as well as about the penalties they face and how we might help them,” Father Gomulak said.
Father Andrzej Juchniewicz, chairperson of Major Superiors, Delegates and Representatives of Institutes and Societies of Apostolic Life in Belarus, and his younger colleague, Father Pawel Lemekh were given 15- and 10-day detention orders, respectively, on May 10. Both worked at the northeastern Diocese of Vitebsk’s sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima at Shumilina.
Father Gomulak said options for assisting the two priests were limited since both were Belarusian citizens of Polish descent, while the Oblates had no legal status in the country.
However, a veteran opposition spokesperson said the denial of information and access was “normal procedure” in Belarus to fuel fear and uncertainty.
“Those detained are told the reason, under the Administrative Code—but can’t communicate this to others—and since this court hearing was conducted online via Skype, no one could attend it,” Natallia Vasilevich, coordinator of the ecumenical Christian Vision organisation, explained.
“People can be accused of anything, however small, and have their phone messages searched for so-called extremist material dating back years. Even those with no previous political record can be arrested and punished this way,” she said.
Church sources said Father Juchniewicz was arrested at Shumilina parish on May 8 after addressing a gathering of Catholic clergy led by Bishop Aleh Butkevich of Vitebsk.
They said Father Lemekh was detained shortly afterward while travelling to neighbouring Poland to meet Oblate leaders from across Europe.
Confirming the arrests in a May 10 statement, the Oblates requested prayers for the priests, and for parishioners left without pastoral care. They added that both priests appeared to have been accused of “alleged diversionary activities against the Belarusian state.”
Meanwhile, the Oblates’ Rome-based superior general, Father Luis Ignacio Rois Alonso, told Italy’s Servizio Informazione Religiosa on May 13 the order was “deeply concerned” about the arrests, and was seeking ways to ensure the priests’ “health and safety.”
The Catholic Church makes up a 10th of the 9.4 million inhabitants of Belarus.
