Msgr. Kondrusiewicz at MinskOn 9th November, in the main basilica of Minsk, the new archbishop of the Belarusian capital, msgr. Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, former archbishop of Moscow, took possession of the diocese. “If I have to, I will work to sign a concordat between Belarus and the Holy See”, said the archbishop who thinks “such step would help Belarus in its desire to emerge as one of the first ex-Soviet states”. Catholics in Minsk are 300 thousand and, to cater to their needs, mgr. Kondrusiewicz is considering the option to “establish a theological college or a training school for devotees”. The archbishop said he is not worried about the low number of local priests: “this is consistent with the general crisis of callings and for the moment there’s no need for new seminaries”. An initiative that will be completed is the rebuilding of Belarus’ greatest cathedral, the one in Grondo (near the border with Lithuania), that had been confiscated 46 years ago by the Soviets. Nowadays, the cathedral is located in the main square dedicated to the Red Army and, according to the archbishop of Minsk, “this awkward problem must be solved in conjunction with the state authorities”. The celebrations were attended by card. Kasimir Szoka and some bishops from Lithuania, Romania, Russia and Ukraine.
