Given the longevity of the pandemic, the church in Europe will have to deal with the urgency of keeping the faithful engaged in their faith, according to the archbishop of Luxembourg.

Many documents from the Second World War remained sealed until the full archive was finally opened in March.

"Returning to Minsk, I was not allowed in at the Kuznica-Bialystok border crossing," Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk-Mohilev told the Catholic Information Agency, KAI, in neighboring Poland Aug. 31.

Catholic leaders in Minsk protested after law enforcement agencies blocked the entry of Sts. Simon and Helena Church and later arrested protesters who had fled inside to avoid police.

Victims had suffered additional pain from the way they were treated by leaders and other members of orders. “We deeply regret this and acknowledge our failure once again,” a representative for the German church said.

The German Catholic news agency KNA notes the president of the bishops’ conference has so far been virtually the only bishop not to comment publicly on the document.