Pinsk Catholic seminary closed

November 8, Pozirk. Katolik.life has confirmed the closure of the Catholic seminary in Pinsk, Brest region.

“It was probably the first serious consequence of the re-registration of religious associations, organized by the Belarusian state. Earlier, priests expressed the opinion that the seminary would not survive re-registration. According to the law, organizations that cannot pass re-registration must be dissolved,” the Catholic news site said.

“The global reason that led to the suspension of the seminary’s activities could be small numbers of people who wish to become Catholic priests, although this year there were many more applicants than in previous years,” it added.

The closure was not officially announced, although it was known in clerical circles. Belarus now has only one Catholic seminary in Hrodna.

The St. Thomas Aquinas Higher Theological Seminary was founded in 1925. It functioned until 1939, when Western Belarus was part of Poland. Its activities were suspended after Pinsk was absorbed by the USSR. The seminary resumed its activity in 2001.

Alaksandar Łukašenka signed a religion bill into law on January 3. The amendments effectively banned religious associations from expressing political positions that divert from the official line.

According to the Chryścijanskaja Vizija group, 31 Catholic priests have been jailed in the country since 2020.

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