Vatican Cardinal praises church-government dialogue in Belarus

GRODNO, 7 December (BelTA) – The government of Belarus is open for a dialogue with the church, Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education (the education ministry in Vatican) Zenon Grocholewski told reporters on 7 December, BelTA has learnt. The cardinal said that during his previous visits to Belarus he discussed the cooperation between the state and church with Belarusian authorities. “We do not see any problems in the relations between the Catholic or Orthodox Church and the government in Belarus. The country knows how to protect the freedom of conscience, worship and religion.” An important mission of the state is to guarantee the respect for the rights of its citizens. These rights include the right of parents to educate their children according to their beliefs. Vatican wants people of all the countries to be able to study their religion in the language they understand. The Cardinal’s three-day visit is dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Grodno supreme seminary. On 6 December the Cardinal met with representatives of the eparchy. On 7 December Zenon Grocholewski met with seminarians, directors of the Roman-Catholic establishments of Belarus as well as heads and teachers of the universities. On 8 December the Cardinal will take part in the mass and a ceremony of ordination at the cathedral church. The Cardinal serves as the Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education (the education ministry in Vatican) which is responsible for almost 1,000 Catholic universities, 150 theological departments as well as more than 3,000 ecclesial seminaries. It will be the second visit of the head of the education department of Vatican to the Grodno Eparchy of the Roman Catholic Church. Ten years ago the Cardinal attended the celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the local divinity school.

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