A Catholic parish priest accused of “offending state authorities” in Belarus said he understood the hardships facing prisoners of conscience after just four days in jail.
“I wouldn’t wish this on anyone – not a single hour in such a place,” said Father Andrej Kulik, rector of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish at Miory. “Many of my colleagues have sat in prison for various concocted reasons in recent de-cades, not just here in Belarus, and it made no difference that I was a Catholic priest.”
The 44-year-old pastor spoke after being arrested May 25 with two other clergy in the eastern Vitebsk Diocese in connection with social media posts.
In an OSV News interview, he said he had been allowed to return home May 28. He hasn’t been charged with anything and his case was sent for revision.
“My parish prayed for me, while my bishop requested my release and said he had discussed my case with state representatives and the Vatican nunciature,” said Father Kulik, one of 57 priests serving the Vitebsk Diocese’s 94 Catholic parishes.
“While the accusations against us are often similar, the details of each case are different. But prison isn’t a place where anyone should be.”