THE SCJs IN BYELORUSSIA

Background Information

Currently Byelorussia covers an area of 207,600 square kilometers. In 1994, the population was 10,367,000. Within the country, 77.9% are Byelorussians; 13.2% are Russians; 4.1% are Poles; 2.9% are Ukrainians; and 1.1% are Jewish. There are also small groups of Tartars and Lithuanians.

SCJ Community House

The religious structure is difficult to define because many Byelorussian citizens are not yet used to the new post-Communist situation. It is difficult to get exact information. However, it can be said that 40% of the population is atheist or indifferent to religion. The remaining part (60%) would therefore be believers, at least theoretically, belonging to one Church or another.

Among the principal faiths the Catholic Church claims approximately 25% of all the inhabitants, as also does the Orthodox Church. The other confessions (10%) are Protestants (above all Baptists), then old-Catholics and Jews. As in Russia, also in Byelorussia, the number of the various sects is increasing.

Looking at the map of religious distribution in Byelorussia it can be noted that the greatest concentration of communities of the faithful is to be found in the western part of the country, the exception being those who are Jewish.

Fr. Virginio Bressanelli, Superior General, during Mass in Bielorussia. Zbigniew Bogacz, Provincial of Poland, is on the right.

The Latin Catholic Church in Byelorussia, after its reorganization of April 13, 1991, is composed of three administrative units: the Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohylev, the Diocese of Pinsk, and the Diocese of Grodno.

The administration of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohylev was entrusted to Cardinal Kazimierzwitek, who is also the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Pinsk. In this service he is assisted by the auxiliary Bishop Kazimierz Vielikosielskij. The Diocese of Grodno has been entrusted to Bishop Aleksander Kaszkiewicz, assisted by his auxiliary Bishop Antoni Dziemianko.

In 1996, Bishop Dominik Hruskovsky of Trnawa in Slovakia was named apostolic nuncio. Since February 11, 1999, the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Byelorussia is officially in-charge.

In the autumn of 1990, the major seminary was opened in Grodno. For the present it is the only Catholic seminary which receives candidates to the priesthood from all of Byelorussia. In 1999 there were 120 students. From 1990 until today 50 priests have come out of this seminary. However, it should be added that in spite of the presence of numerous foreign priests working in Byelorussia, currently - according to a provisional calculation - at least 60 more priests would be necessary to satisfy the needs of parish ministry. At the same time, however, it must be noted that the civil authorities keep this aspect of the life of the Church under control and only a limited number of foreign priests receive permission to work in Byelorussia. It is thought that in the future, another seminary will be opened in Pinsk where, in November of 1993, the Catholic Church regained possession of the building of the old seminary.

In May 1995, Alexander Lukaszenka became president of Byelorussia. He is an upholder of the old Communist system and of the integration of Byelorussia within Russia. Under his government, there has been a regression in the development of democracy and a return to the old Communist system. Thus the Catholic Church also finds itself in the difficult conditions of limited freedom. The current civil authorities try to blame the Catholic Church, and above all the Polish priests, for all the discontent of the Byelorussians which arise from the difficult economic and social situation of the country. To this end the means of mass communication are also exploited in order to feed this aversion to Catholics. All this creates a very difficult environment for the Catholic Church to live in today in Byelorussia. This is also the environment in which the SCJs carry out their ministry.

Fr. Zbigniew Bogacz, SCJ, Provincial Superior of the Polish Province, speaking about the work of Polish SCJ's in Byelorussia.

The Work of the SCJs in Byelorussia

Our Congregation's first contacts with the Church in Byelorussia took place through Fr. Czeslaw Kunda, SCJ, who was born in that region. Already in 1957 he had made his first visit to Grodno and to Vilnius in Lithuania. Thanks to the political changes which took place after the death of Stalin, Fr. Kunda was able to celebrate his first Mass with members of his family (he had been ordained eight years previously). He was able to repeat his visit almost 30 years later, that is, in 1985 and 1986. He then stayed, first on his own and then in company with other SCJs, for some weeks in the Grodno area, with the purpose of getting to know the existing situation better. He asked for a permit to stay in the Soviet Union but his request was rejected. Taking advantage, however, of the possibility of a short term sojourn, Fr. Kunda and other SCJs offered, particularly in the Grodno area, pastoral assistance to the small group of priests who were already present in Byelorussia, especially during Advent, Lent and over Easter.

The turning point for the life of the Church, as also for our pastoral commitment in Byelorussia, took place at the end of the 1980s with the political and social changes ("perestroika") of Gorbachev, which created new conditions and greater freedom for the Church.

Cardinal Kazimierz Swiatek during a ceremony at the SCJ parish in Bielorussia.

The first visit made to Byelorussia by the Polish SCJ Provincial, together with his assistant, took place in 1989. Contact with the local Bishop (then Bishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz) led to the acceptance of parish activity in Lack (approximately 50 kilometers east of Grodno) and in Lyntupy (approximately one hundred kilometers southeast of Vilnius, but still in the territory of Byelorussia). Three priests were assigned to this ministry.

At the same time two other priests were sent to this mission; one to the Byelorussian area of Chernobyl (Lelczyce) to organize the parish there, and the other to Grodno. In 1991, at the request of the new Archbishop of Minsk-Mohylev and the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Pinsk, Archbishop Kazimierzwitek, two of our priests started ministry work at Lachowicze (about 150 kilometers southwest of Minsk). We were subsequently entrusted also with the parishes of Postawy and Szarkowszczyna (in the Archdiocese of Minsk-Mohylev), and lastly with the parish of Ostryna (in the Diocese of Grodno).

The pastoral commitments and the places where our priests worked have in part changed since the early days. Some ministries which were entrusted to us temporarily because of the scant availability of priests have now been filled by local priests; other places have been left for various reasons. Here is a concrete example: Fr. Zbigniew Bojar worked for three years at Lelczyce (near Chernobyl), where he built the new church and parish building. Today diocesan priests work there.

The Church in Lelczyce

Since 1999, 11 of our priests have been present in Byelorussia. They work in seven main areas, in the territory of all three dioceses. Another works as a professor in the major seminary at Grodno. Taking these two into account, there are now 12 SCJ priests working in Byelorussia.

The centers served by our priests could be useful in the future as a support base for certain specific activities of the congregation. At present, mainly because of the somewhat unfavorable political situation, it is not possible to develop these ministries. One must keep in mind that until only a short time ago it was almost impossible to start any other kind of work apart from the typical parish ministry. It is hoped that with time there will be new possibilities of work in this country.

In Postawy we already own our first religious house; it is currently being restored. It will be useful for the ministry to children and young people and for the work among the poorest. The restoration of this house is being financed by the a group of Italian lay persons associated with the SCJs.

The ministry to children and young people in Byelorussia was entrusted to Fr. Marek Kazmierczak, SCJ, formerly vicar in the parish of Postavy, and now vicar in the parish of Lyntupy. Since 1993 Fr. Kazmierczak has been organizing, among other things, vacations for children and adolescents, called "Vacations with God." These are particularly for those people coming from the poorest families or from areas polluted by the atomic center from Chernobyl.

It must be added here that Byelorussia is one of the poorest countries of the former Soviet Union. Many families live in dire poverty, so that it is not possible for them to give their children the chance to have the rehabilitation and rest they require. In such a situation this initiative seems very important.

A procession in Lyntupy.

With regard to future prospects for our congregation, the fact must be emphasized that we already own our first house in Postawy, one which will also be useful for recruiting vocations. We also have the chance of building a new religious house in a large urban center in Grodno. At present one of our students from Byelorussia is studying in our major seminary at Stadniki; one young man has started the novitiate and another his postulancy. In the future the Polish Province may be able to take on more specific tasks: parish missions and retreats, a wider ranging ministry, teaching and publishing work in the seminary and in the catechetical institute.

In the meantime, however, according to existing state legislation, religious institutes may not be officially registered. For this reason we are forced to take on work in the parishes in order to obtain residence permits. One of the most important things for the SCJs is the fact that it has given us the possibility of recruiting local vocations, as indeed a well organized religious house in Byelorussia.

Looking back over the progress of the SCJs in Byelorussia we can say that there have been years of hard work which at times might also seem to be somewhat unfruitful. All the same, one must take account of the difficult socio-political situation in which they have had to, and still have to, carry out their work.

In spite of all the difficulties and obstacles we can record that in this period we have accomplished the building of four new churches and two parish buildings, as well as the restoration of seven chapels. All this is a significant contribution, not only from the religious point of view but also from the material aspect. We thank God, who in the most difficult period of the life of the Church, after the destruction caused by communism, has given the SCJs the possibility of making an important and long lasting contribution towards the construction of the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart in Byelorussia.