News Desk
Pope Francis on Sunday accepted the resignation of the head of the Catholic Church in Belarus, Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, who spent time in exile last year after angering President Alexander Lukashenko. Kondrusiewicz turned 75 on Sunday, the age at which bishops are required to submit resignation letters to the pope, which he then decides whether to accept. It is highly unusual for the pope to accept a bishop’s resignation precisely on his 75th birthday and even more so to announce it on a Sunday. The speed with which the resignation was accepted indicated the possibility that a face-saving deal for both sides was found in negotiations between the Vatican.
