Saint Joseph Catholic Church

“The three parishes first gained state registration in the 1990s,” Forum 18 reported. “Like all religious communities that wanted to continue to exist under the new Religion Law that came into force in July 2024, they were forced to seek re-registration. Officials of Brest Regional Executive Committee rejected their applications in 2025 and lodged the liquidation suits to court.”

The Eastern European nation of 9.5 million (map) is 82% Christian (63% Orthodox, 17% Catholic). An autocratic president, Alexander Lukashenko, has led the nation since 1994.

In the first episode, Dr. Michael Breidenbach, a history professor at Ave Maria University, discussed Catholics and the founding.

Father Josh Johnson, coauthor of the Pocket Guide to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, said:

Anybody can do the Bible study. Anybody can facilitate a retreat. Anybody can work in the food pantry. I think we [priests] should do all those things, but I think we ought to always prioritize, above everything else, the sacraments ...

Sometimes what keeps people away is the practical thing of it’s not available. And if we make it more available, people will begin to come. If you add confession times, I guarantee you, people are going to start coming.

“Care, education and the transmission of values cannot be fully delegated to digital technology,” said Chargé d’Affaires of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations. “They are rooted in presence, responsibility and love.”

Msgr. Murphy added:

These realities are most fully expressed within the family, which remains the primary place of care, education and solidarity, even as technology evolves. Therefore, efforts should be made to ensure that technology complements, rather than replaces, the family and authentic human relationships.

London-based Níall McLaughlin Architects will be the architect for the new cathedral complex.

“What is not widely known is that Pope Leo XIV’s first extraordinary consistory was initially planned to follow the classical format,” Montagna reported. “But it was later reconfigured under somewhat mysterious circumstances, with no official explanation as to why the format changed, who was involved in the decision, or who ultimately organized the meeting.”

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, sent a message in Pope Leo’s name to a meeting of Italian Church officials devoted to abuse prevention.