OREANDA-NEWS. January 24, 2008. The state and the church should unite efforts to resolve spiritual and social problems, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting with members of the Synod of the Belarusian Orthodox Church on January 24.

“As the primary goal for the joint efforts of the state and the church I would like to point out radical improvement of the demographic situation in the country, moral and physical rehabilitation of people, which directly determine the future of the Belarusian nation,” underlined the head of state. In his words, over the last few years a lot has been done in Belarus to increase the authority of mothers and improve the welfare of large families. The Year of Mother and the Year of Child strengthened positive tendencies, reducing child mortality and improving the demographic situation as a whole.

However, according to the President, legal and economic levers alone are far from being sufficient. The head of state said, first and foremost, the best traditions of spirituality and morality as well as healthy lifestyle should be reinstituted in the general public. The state counts a lot on the influence and aid of the Belarusian Orthodox Church in reaching the goal.

The President believes, this year, which has been declared a Year of Health, people should be encouraged to change their attitude to life. In his opinion, the church can teach people to follow the ideals of kindness, mercy, parental love for kids, and respective attitude to the older generation.

“We should unite efforts in overcoming the abuse of alcohol and drugs, crime and other antisocial phenomena, which mutilate human soul and deliver irreparable damage to one’s life. Today even in the satiated and rich Europe crimes, drugs, AIDS kill as many people as military conflicts do in other countries,” stressed the Belarusian leader. Alexander Lukashenko added, fortunately, in Belarus these vicious phenomena have not become a nationwide disaster, however, “alarm signs are obvious, therefore we should do our best to prevent mass propagation”.

The head of state is convinced, the existing serious problems in the society, including the problem of abortions, are resolvable. “It is important to take a careful and calm attitude to addressing them. It is important to avoid blunders like people say,” said the President.

Alexander Lukashenko praised the contribution of the Belarusian Orthodox Church to reinforcing civil accord in the society, promoting a dialogue between various confessions.