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Belarusian Catholic Dissident Returns Home, Urges Prayers for Imprisoned
Confirmed
In Short: Andrzej Poczobut, a Belarusian Catholic dissident, returned to his homeland 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 spending five months in exile in Poland. Poczobut, who was freed from an eight-year hard labor term in April, met with Pope Leo XIV and presented him with a sacred image of the Virgin Mary. Before crossing the Polish-Belarusian border, he posted a picture of himself at the Niemen River in Grodno, expressing his fear of arrest but also his determination not to let it dictate his life. Poczobut, an essayist and activist, urged Western Catholics to remember the fate of priests and lay Catholics now suffering in prison, hoping that prayers would show they are not indifferent to their plight.
In his interview with OSV News, Poczobut highlighted the ongoing repression against Poles and Catholics in Belarus, a situation that has been in place for two decades. He also mentioned the recent release of another Catholic dissident, Ales Bialiatski, who won the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize and met with the pope. Poczobut emphasized the minority status of Catholics in Belarus, where the regime is closely aligned with Russia. He noted that the situation for Catholics has worsened since Lukashenka's contested reelection in 2020, leading to the flight of half a million citizens abroad.
Catholic colleges in the United States are grappling with the rise of artificial intelligence and its impact on higher education. While each university has its own unique approach, they all believe that Catholic universities have an important role to play in the conversation about this new era of technology. Academics emphasized the importance of reflecting on the purpose of Catholic education before addressing the technology question.
Meanwhile, in Belarus, the exiled ecumenical Christian Vision organization reported that more Polish priests could have been ordered to leave than officially reported, with some requesting Belarusian citizenship to remain in their parishes. Catholics make up around 10% of Belarus's 8.92 million inhabitants, where Lukashenka, in power for 32 years, began a seventh term as president in January 2025.
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.
- Peter’s Square May 27, handing him a letter about human rights abuses in Belarus.
- The U.S. Supreme Court this week denied an emergency request that would have allowed a Catholic mother in New York to send her 5-year-old son to kindergarten without the vaccinations required by state law.
- However, in the 2008 instruction Dignitas Personae, the Church said that Catholics utilizing vaccines have “a duty” to let drugmakers and their healthcare providers know they oppose the way the vaccines were developed and demand vaccines created without the use of aborted fetal cells.
- New York law has a provision that children unvaccinated for medical reasons must stay at home during outbreaks, and Doe agreed to abide by that if granted an exemption.
- According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a person must not be forced to act against a conscience formed well through Scripture, reason, and Church teaching, even when others would make a different choice.