Conference of Catholic bishops of Belarus discusses criminal prosecution of priest Lazar
As
stated at the website catholic.by, on 12 September the Conference of
Catholic Bishops of Belarus received information from the state
organs about the detention of priest Uladzislau Lazar.
As
reported at September 12 catholic.by Conference of Catholic Bishops
of Belarus received from government agencies about the arrest of .
Vladislav Lazarus.
The authorities stated that the priest was
really detained by the KGB and was kept in the remand prison of the
KGB in Minsk.
He is charged with violating part 1 of Article
356 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus, and his criminal
liability is determined by paragraph 6 of Article 16 of theCriminal
Code. Priest Lazar is charged with the transfer of money and property
to a person who is accused of spying for another country.
At
the request of the church hierarchy he
received an assurance that the rights of the priest would be observed
in conformity with the legislation of the Republic of Belarus.
In
the near future the Apostolic Nuncio in Belarus Archbishop Claudio
Gugerotti will be given the opportunity of a personal meeting with
Uladzislau Lazar.
The
state authorities
guarantee that the church hierarchy will be regularly informed of the
results of the investigation, which still
continues. According to the
government authorities, this episode will not
affect the climate of trust of Belarus to the Apostolic See and the
respect for the Catholic Church.