Pray for the Belarusian people, who “fight are fighting for their rights and freedom,” for an end to the violence and the restoration of justice, for peace and social harmony….
These are the prays requested by His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, in a letter to Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk, president of the Belarusian Episcopal Conference, and to Archimandrite Serhiy Hayek, Apostolic Visitor for the Greek-Catholics of Belarus.
To the Catholic Church in Belarus, he expressed his support in the difficult situation, and assures his Church every evening, at 9 pm, is offering a special prayer for the Belarusian people.
Various street protests have overtaken Belarus after the re-election of Alexander Lukashenko to the presidency, who has guided the nation uninterruptedly since 1994.
In the letter, His Beatitude Shevchuk stresses to believe that “God, only Lord of human history, may be invisibly present in the streets and squares of Belarus to assure His closeness and His salvation to these suffering people.”
His Beatitude then said that he prays for “the protection of Belarus from external and enemy forces, for the preservation of the unity of the Belarusian people and for the independence and territorial integrity of his State.”
Addressing directly the children of the Greek-Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk invited them to “pray with fervor for an end to violence against the innocent, for the re-establishment of social order and for understanding of the Belarusian people, for peace and the preservation of the unity and integrity of the Belarusian State.”
Issuing an invitation, the Head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church requested an additional prayer for the Belarusian people “every day at 9:00 pm to pray for peace and serenity in Ukraine.”
Pope Francis appealed for the Belarusian situation after his Aug. 16 Sunday Angelus, and many Bishops’ Conferences of the universal Church, have expressed their solidarity.
