Belarusian Catholic bishops elect Stanieŭski as chairman

May 8, Pozirk. The Conference of Catholic Bishops of Belarus (CCBB) elected Archbishop of Minsk and Mahiloŭ Iosif Stanieŭski as its new chairman on May 7, catholic.by reported.

Stanieŭski, secretary general at the CCBB since April 2021, replaced Aleh Butkievič who will serve as deputy chairman. Bishop Juryj Kasabucki is the new CCBB secretary general.

The Archbishop of Minsk and Mahiloŭ will chair the CCBB for the first time since early 2021, following the retirement of Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, whose criticism of police violence during the 2020 political crisis irritated Alaksandar Łukašenka and his officials.

Kondrusiewicz headed the archdiocese since 2007 and chaired the CCBB since mid-2015. Pope Francis accepted his resignation as he turned 75 in 2021.

Also read: Catholic Church in Belarus not going to bless civil unions, same-sex marriages