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Belarusian Catholic Dissident Returns Home, Urges Prayers for Imprisoned
Confirmed
In Short: Andrzej Poczobut, a Catholic dissident, returned to Belarus after an audience with Pope Leo XIV, urging Western Catholics to remember Christians imprisoned by the regime.
Belarusian Catholic dissident Andrzej Poczobut returned to his homeland after an audience with Pope Leo XIV, where he sought the pontiff's blessing for his family and for Belarus, and discussed the plight of Catholics with Archbishop Paul Gallagher.
Poczobut, who was freed from an eight-year hard labor term in April, crossed the Polish-Belarusian border on September 8 and posted a picture at the Niemen River in Grodno, expressing his fears but also his determination not to let them dictate his life.
Before his return, Poczobut met with Pope Leo XIV and presented him with a 16th-century image of the Virgin Mary, highlighting the ongoing repression of Catholics in Belarus, a country where Lukashenka, in power for 32 years, has been a close ally of Russia.
Poczobut emphasized the need for prayers for imprisoned Catholics and the serious problem posed by the regime's policy against Poles and Catholics, which has been in place for two decades.
The Catholic community in Belarus, comprising about 10% of the population, faces challenges alongside the predominant Moscow-controlled Orthodox church, with some Polish priests reportedly requesting Belarusian citizenship to remain in their parishes.
What's confirmed
- “I hope people will remember the fate of priests and lay Catholics now suffering in prison, showing through prayers that they’re not indifferent,” said Poczobut, a law lecturer and journalist who was freed in April from an eight-year hard labor term.
- “Having no contact with the regime and no guarantees for my freedom, I’ll only find out what’s planned for me when I get to the border. But while I’m afraid like everyone else, I can’t let my life be determined by fears of arrest,” he said before crossing the Polish-Belarusian border and posting his picture in Grodno, at the Niemen River, Sept. 8 on X.
- In his interview, Poczobut said he had requested Pope Leo’s blessing for his family and for Belarus when he met the pontiff, presenting him with a sacred image of the Virgin Mary dating from 16th-century Grodno, before going to discuss the plight of Belarus’ Catholics with Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states.
- “The policy against Poles and Catholics has been underway for two decades now and poses a serious problem for our communities,” Poczobut told OSV News of the situation in his homeland, where the regime is one of the closest allies of Russia.
- Meanwhile, Belarus’ exiled ecumenical Christian Vision organization said more Polish priests could also have been ordered to leave than officially reported, adding that some had requested Belarusian citizenship in order to remain in their parishes.
- Catholics make up around a 10th of the 8.92 million inhabitants of Belarus, where Lukashenka, in power for 32 years, began a seventh term as president in January 2025 after claiming 86.8% of the votes in elections.
- Poczobut said the fate of Catholics in Belarus, where Lukashenka’s contested reelection in 2020 was followed by harsh repression and the flight of half a million citizens abroad, had to be seen through the prism of their minority status alongside the predominant Moscow-controlled Orthodox church.
- (OSV News) — Andrzej Poczobut, a Belarusian Catholic dissident and journalist, returned to Belarus Sept.
What's still developing
- A Catholic gym is helping people transform their workouts into opportunities for prayer, discipline, and service.
- As another academic year settles into routines, Catholic colleges around the country are tackling how to approach the rise of artificial intelligence and its impact on higher education.
- And while the universities each have their own unique response (like Wyoming Catholic's profiled here ), colleges like University of Mary, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Benedictine College, and University of Dallas all believe that Catholic universities have an important role to play in the conversation about this new era of technology.
- When asked about AI in education, these Catholic academics emphasized that it is important to take a step back from the technology question and first reflect on the purpose of Catholic education.