CNA Staff, Sep 12, 2020 / 05:00 am
Belarus renewed its invitation to Pope Francis to visit the country Friday during talks with a senior Vatican official.
Vladimir Makei, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that the invitation remained open amid tensions between the local Catholic Church and the government, BelTA, the state-owned national news agency, reported Sept. 11.
President Alexander Lukashenko invited Pope Francis to visit Belarus during a trip to the Vatican in 2016.
Makei met with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican's Secretary for Relations with States, a week after the leader of the Catholic Church in Belarus was blocked from returning to his homeland.