Shushkevіch: I have a photo of San Men Mun with the leader of the Orthodox Church
A former head of the Supreme Soviet admits that he knows Mun personally but does not participate in any religious actions of “The Church of Unity”. The Belarusian television accused Shushkevich of being an adherent of the sect and of having regular contacts with its leader San Men Mun. ERB phoned the former speaker of the Belarusian Parliament to prove this information.
Shushkevich did not deny the fact he knew Mun and participated in his seminars.
Shushkevіch: Yes, I did participate in conferences in Moscow, Seoul and New York. The head of the commission of the House of Representatives Ihar Katlyarou attended one of those conferences. A former British Prime Minister Edward Hit, Lech Wałęsa and Mihail Gorbachyov also took part in them…
Stalislau considers participation in such seminars to be secular activities of “The Church of Union”. Shushkevich did not participate in religious meetings and is not going to do it.
Shushkevіch: I have never been an adherent of any sect. The only thing I know about Mun’s church is that it’s a Christian creed and the rest is not my business. I respect Catholicism most of all and I am proud a have a letter from Pope John Paul II.
Shushkevich met Mun in Vilnius last year: the Belarusian scientist and politician was invited to a meeting where San Men Mun made a speech concerning the idea “How to preserve and strengthen peace in Europe”. The former speaker does not consider it a sect and says he has a photo of Mun together with the head of the Orthodox Church.
However, churches and organizations of this kind are forbidden in Minsk. An expert of the Committee on religious matters and nationalities of the Council of Ministers Katsyaryna Aheenkava says that such cults do harm to individuals and the whole society:
Aheenkava: They were closed down at the end of the 1990s as civil organizations occupied with illegal religious activities. A new Law on Religion was adopted several years later. According to the law, “The Church of Unity” and other organizations promoting new cults cannot be registered in Belarus.
Shushkevich did not deny the fact he knew Mun and participated in his seminars.
Shushkevіch: Yes, I did participate in conferences in Moscow, Seoul and New York. The head of the commission of the House of Representatives Ihar Katlyarou attended one of those conferences. A former British Prime Minister Edward Hit, Lech Wałęsa and Mihail Gorbachyov also took part in them…
Stalislau considers participation in such seminars to be secular activities of “The Church of Union”. Shushkevich did not participate in religious meetings and is not going to do it.
Shushkevіch: I have never been an adherent of any sect. The only thing I know about Mun’s church is that it’s a Christian creed and the rest is not my business. I respect Catholicism most of all and I am proud a have a letter from Pope John Paul II.
Shushkevich met Mun in Vilnius last year: the Belarusian scientist and politician was invited to a meeting where San Men Mun made a speech concerning the idea “How to preserve and strengthen peace in Europe”. The former speaker does not consider it a sect and says he has a photo of Mun together with the head of the Orthodox Church.
However, churches and organizations of this kind are forbidden in Minsk. An expert of the Committee on religious matters and nationalities of the Council of Ministers Katsyaryna Aheenkava says that such cults do harm to individuals and the whole society:
Aheenkava: They were closed down at the end of the 1990s as civil organizations occupied with illegal religious activities. A new Law on Religion was adopted several years later. According to the law, “The Church of Unity” and other organizations promoting new cults cannot be registered in Belarus.
