ARCHDIOCESE OF KAUNAS
Kaunas
After the trial of Šarūnas Žukauskas and his companions, Security decided to take care of the remaining active ethnographers and other individuals.
Aspirant Jucevičius, who had worked on the chemistry faculty, was expelled from the Polytechnic Institute, Student Albinas Jonkus was expelled from the school of constructional technology, Albinas Jonkus, from the Institute of Medicine, Fifth-Class student Levi j a Mozerytė, and Assistant Remigijus Morkūnas, from the Dept. of Surgical Stomotology.
Sixth-class student Nijolė Muraškaitė of the Medical Institute was given a demerit for "conduct" incompatible with the ethics of a Soviet physician.
During the proceedings in the rector's office, she was accused of being a believer and going to church. Similar demerits were meted out to Sixth-Class students Virginijus Skabuiskas and Kazimieras Preikšą.
Brought to trial at their places of employment were: (Miss) Jūratė Eitniravičiūtė, of the Pramprojektas, Eligijus Morkūnas (Museum of Folk Life), (Mrs.) Margarita Sakalauskienė (Executive Secretary of the Kaunas Society of Ethnography), (Miss) Audronė Peseckaitė (Čiurlionis Museum of Art), Vilius Semaška (radio factory), Lukas Mackevičius (Endocrine Preparations Production), Regimantas Kurklietis (Same).
(Mrs.) Margarita Sakalauskienė was discharged form work, and the rest were summoned before the Security Committee and pressured to sign pledges that they would not participate in anti-Soviet activities.
The above-mentioned persons were brought up before disciplinary boards at work, on the basis of written communications from the Party Committee.
Pramproject workers — ethnographers angered by the above-mentioned repressions, gathered together the citations of members of the society and gave them to the council of the City of Kaunas, saying that they were resigning from the society.
The following ethnographers were summoned before the Security Committee of Vilnius and forced to sign warnings:
Alfonsas Juška, Birutė Burauskaitė, Jonas Trinkūnas, Rimas Matulis, and Kazys Misius.
The latter was also accused of sending photographs of Lithuanian crosses abroad. According to the interrogator, it is permissible to collect pictures of crosses, but not to disseminate them.
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June 14-16, 1974, a religious festival was celebrated in the Church of St. Anthony in Kaunas. The festival began on June 13 with a solemn procession. The beautiful effect was spoiled by some people making motion picture film. A panic ensued. Many did not wish to be filmed by the unknown cameramen.
The next day, the pastor, Father Pranas Šniukšta, told his parishioners:
"Four years ago, the Lithuanian Film Studios decided to make a film based on religion in Lithuania and Latvia. A Mass celebrated by the Bishop of Riga and the funeral of His Excellency, Bishop Maželis, were filmed. Then the project was halted... I was appointed responsible for the making of this film. Some bishops and I saw the finished product.
The film-makers said that the procession in St. Anthony's Parish is most beautiful and that the filming was coordinated with ecclesiastical authorities.
When the filming began, participants in the procession went into a panic, but the film studio promised that the film would not be used for the wrong purposes.
Some say, "We may never see that film, but there will be people who will."
The Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania seriously advises Father Šniukšta and other priests to refuse to direct atheistic propaganda films, not to write for atheistic newspapers very subjective articles, but to get back to directly priestly work.
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