Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko released two priests who had been imprisoned in Belarus for “serious crimes against the state,” after a visit to the President last month from the papal legate, Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti. The pardons of Father Henrykh Akalatovich and Father Andzej Yukhnevich came after “intensification of contacts with the Vatican, as well as the principles of goodwill, mercy, and the jubilee year proclaimed by the Roman Catholic Church,” the government media organization said. The Roman Catholic Church in Belarus welcomed the state’s positive trends in international relations, as well as the strengthening of contacts with the Vatican.
“We welcome the visit to Belarus in October 2025 of Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, Pope Leo XIV’s high representative, and the agreements reached. He is a long-standing friend of the Republic of Belarus, having done much for the Catholic Church in our country, as well as for the development of church-state and interfaith dialogue. His visit gave positive impetus to further contacts, an important result of which was the decision by the President of the Republic of Belarus, as a sign of mercy and respect for the Pope, to pardon and release Catholic priests serving sentences in prison,” [the statement reads.](https://belta.by/society/view/prezidentom-belarusi-pomilovany-i-osvobozhdeny-dva-katolicheskih-svjaschennika-749693-2025/
