{"id":165245,"date":"2025-11-22T16:20:27","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T13:20:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"lukasenkas-spokeswoman-catholic-priests-freed-at-popes-request","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/","title":{"rendered":"\u0141uka\u0161enka&#8217;s spokeswoman:\u00a0Catholic priests freed at pope&#8217;s request"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"block-image block-image-normal\">\n\n  <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1128\" height=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/okolotovich_juhnevich_catholic_by_1128x752.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/okolotovich_juhnevich_catholic_by_1128x752.jpg 1128w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/okolotovich_juhnevich_catholic_by_1128x752-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/okolotovich_juhnevich_catholic_by_1128x752-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/okolotovich_juhnevich_catholic_by_1128x752-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/okolotovich_juhnevich_catholic_by_1128x752-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1128px) 100vw, 1128px\" \/>\n  <figcaption>\n      <div class=\"block-image__descr\">\n\n        Hienryk Aka\u0142atovi\u010d and Andrej Juchnievi\u010d (center, left to right)\n    <\/div>\n  \n       <div class=\"block-image__author\">\n                <span>(catholic.by)<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n     <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>November 22,<em> Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> Minsk freed Catholic priests Andrej Juchnievi\u010d and Hienryk Aka\u0142atovi\u010d at the request of Pope Leo XI, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka&#8217;s spokeswoman Natalla Ejsmant has told a state-run Belarusian television channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u0141uka\u0161enka pardoned the priests two days ago \u201cfor the purpose of developing relations between the Republic of Belarus and the Holy See,\u201d she said in a video posted by the Belarusian ruler&#8217;s press office on the <em>Pul Pervogo<\/em> Telegram channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Both were taken to the Vatican weeks after Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, a former apostolic nuncio, met \u0141uka\u0161enka in Minsk. Vatican envoy Ignazio Ceffalia and Belarusian Archbishop Juzaf Stanie\u016dski also reportedly participated in the negotiations on their release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aka\u0142atovi\u010d, a parish priest from Va\u0142o\u017eyn, Minsk region, was serving an 11-year prison term on high treason charges, filed against him for alleged espionage for Poland and the Vatican. Juchnievi\u010d, rector of the church of Our Lady of F\u00e1tima in \u0160umilina, Viciebsk region, was arrested in May 2024 on suspicion of subversive activity against the Belarusian state. Earlier this year, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison at a closed-door trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Experts assume that \u0141uka\u0161enka aims to improve relations with the Holy See to use it as a platform to engage with the West, citing Minsk\u2019s intention to open the Belarusian embassy in the Vatican this year and the recent appointment of senior diplomat Juryj Ambrazievi\u010d as an ambassador to the Holy See.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"insert-block\">\n\n    <div class=\"insert-block__img\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"354\" height=\"236\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/gudzherotti_kardinal_vatican_news_screen_1128x752-354x236.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/gudzherotti_kardinal_vatican_news_screen_1128x752-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/gudzherotti_kardinal_vatican_news_screen_1128x752-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/gudzherotti_kardinal_vatican_news_screen_1128x752-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/gudzherotti_kardinal_vatican_news_screen_1128x752-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/gudzherotti_kardinal_vatican_news_screen_1128x752.jpg 1128w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px\" \/>                        <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> Politics<\/label>\n\n                <\/div>\n    <div class=\"insert-block__text\">\n                    <label class=\"insert-block__tag\">Politics<\/label>\n                <h3 class=\"insert-block__title\">Cardinal Gugerotti: dialogue most effective strategy in talks with Minsk \u00a0<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">November 21, Pozirk. Ignoring or punishing Minsk instead of engaging in dialogue is counterproductive, Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, a former apostolic nuncio and current prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, has told Vatican News. The cardinal\u2019s comments on relations &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/165135\">\n            <button class=\"btn\">\n                <div class='btn__text'>Read the article<\/div>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>November 22, Pozirk. Minsk freed Catholic priests Andrej Juchnievi\u010d and Hienryk Aka\u0142atovi\u010d at the request of Pope Leo XI, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka&#8217;s spokeswoman Natalla Ejsmant has told a state-run Belarusian television channel. \u0141uka\u0161enka pardoned the priests two days ago \u201cfor the purpose of developing relations between the Republic of Belarus and the Holy See,\u201d she said [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":164879,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-165245","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-politics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\u0141uka\u0161enka&#039;s spokeswoman:\u00a0Catholic priests freed at pope&#039;s request | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"November 22, Pozirk. Minsk freed Catholic priests Andrej Juchnievi\u010d and Hienryk Aka\u0142atovi\u010d at the request of Pope Leo XI, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka&#039;s\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u0141uka\u0161enka&#039;s spokeswoman:\u00a0Catholic priests freed at pope&#039;s request | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"November 22, Pozirk. Minsk freed Catholic priests Andrej Juchnievi\u010d and Hienryk Aka\u0142atovi\u010d at the request of Pope Leo XI, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka&#039;s\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/okolotovich_juhnevich_catholic_by_1128x752.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1128\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"752\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Pozirk_online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/\"},\"headline\":\"\u0141uka\u0161enka&#8217;s spokeswoman:\u00a0Catholic priests freed at pope&#8217;s request\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-22T13:20:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/\"},\"wordCount\":253,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/okolotovich_juhnevich_catholic_by_1128x752.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/\",\"name\":\"\u0141uka\u0161enka's spokeswoman:\u00a0Catholic priests freed at pope's request | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/okolotovich_juhnevich_catholic_by_1128x752.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-22T13:20:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"November 22, Pozirk. Minsk freed Catholic priests Andrej Juchnievi\u010d and Hienryk Aka\u0142atovi\u010d at the request of Pope Leo XI, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka's\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/okolotovich_juhnevich_catholic_by_1128x752.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/okolotovich_juhnevich_catholic_by_1128x752.jpg\",\"width\":1128,\"height\":752},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u0141uka\u0161enka&#8217;s spokeswoman:\u00a0Catholic priests freed at pope&#8217;s request\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Pozirk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u0141uka\u0161enka's spokeswoman:\u00a0Catholic priests freed at pope's request | Pozirk","description":"November 22, Pozirk. Minsk freed Catholic priests Andrej Juchnievi\u010d and Hienryk Aka\u0142atovi\u010d at the request of Pope Leo XI, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka's","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u0141uka\u0161enka's spokeswoman:\u00a0Catholic priests freed at pope's request | Pozirk","og_description":"November 22, Pozirk. Minsk freed Catholic priests Andrej Juchnievi\u010d and Hienryk Aka\u0142atovi\u010d at the request of Pope Leo XI, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka's","og_url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/","og_site_name":"Pozirk","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","article_modified_time":"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1128,"height":752,"url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/okolotovich_juhnevich_catholic_by_1128x752.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Pozirk_online","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/"},"headline":"\u0141uka\u0161enka&#8217;s spokeswoman:\u00a0Catholic priests freed at pope&#8217;s request","datePublished":"2025-11-22T13:20:27+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/"},"wordCount":253,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/okolotovich_juhnevich_catholic_by_1128x752.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/","name":"\u0141uka\u0161enka's spokeswoman:\u00a0Catholic priests freed at pope's request | Pozirk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/okolotovich_juhnevich_catholic_by_1128x752.jpg","datePublished":"2025-11-22T13:20:27+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00","description":"November 22, Pozirk. Minsk freed Catholic priests Andrej Juchnievi\u010d and Hienryk Aka\u0142atovi\u010d at the request of Pope Leo XI, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka's","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/okolotovich_juhnevich_catholic_by_1128x752.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/okolotovich_juhnevich_catholic_by_1128x752.jpg","width":1128,"height":752},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/165245\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u0141uka\u0161enka&#8217;s spokeswoman:\u00a0Catholic priests freed at pope&#8217;s request"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","name":"Pozirk","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization","name":"Pozirk","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Pozirk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/165245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"rubric","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rubric?post=165245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}