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 the small number of people who want to become Catholic priests, although this year there were many more applicants than in previous years,” it added.
The closure of the seminary was not officially announced, although it was known in clerical circles. This leaves only one Catholic seminary in Belarus – 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 the bill on religious organizations on January 3. The amendments effectively banned them from showing political activity outside the official line.
According to the Chryścijanskaja Vizija group, 31 Catholic priests have been jailed under the Code of Administrative Offenses since 2020.
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