Fourth-year seminarian Ričardas Jakutis, already suspected earlier of being a security agent, was expelled from the Kaunas Seminary before Christmas 1977. The seminarian was ousted for drunkedness and immoral behavior. His offenses and loose morals are widely known in Šiauliai, Kaunas, Šilalė, Klaipėda, Riga, Mažeikiai and Telšiai. He often spent his nights drinking while a Šiauliai taxi used to wait for him. In Telšiai, the seminarian was caught naked in the company of women. A commission headed by the Rector travelled to Telšiai to investigate his offenses. Upon being expelled from the seminary, Jakutis admitted his guilt to the rector and dean and also publicly admitted his guilt to the seminarians. However, upon returning to Šiauliai, he immediately began to gather "evidence" that he had been unjustly expelled. He attempted to obtain affidavits from all witnesses to his offenses stating that he did not commit such offenses. He even begged (Mrs) Šorienė—who found him naked in a Telšiai apartment—on his knees, weeping, promising the earth and the sky, to withdraw or at least deny her testimony. After he visited her three times, (Mrs.) Šorienė denied her testimony, out of pity, but later, following the dictates of her conscience, wrote a letter to the seminary rector describing the whole situation.
During a meeting at the seminary on January 11, 1978, the Administrator of the Vilnius Archdiocese, Č.(eslovas) Krivaitis, demanded that Jakutis be readmitted to the seminary as one who had been wrongfully slandered (after a public admission).
The pastor of Aušros Vartai (Gates of Dawn) in Vilnius, Dean Gutauskas, and the pastor of St. Peter's Church, A. Dilys, went to Telšiai at the end of January to look into the "innocence" of Jakutis. They visited all the witnesses to his offenses (in secret, without the knowledge of the Telšiai diocesan chancery office or the Seminary administration). They did not attempt to investigate Jakutis' offenses, but merely asked who had made the whole matter public. These two Vilnius priests even asked the Šoris family whether they needed material assistance!!! Running into the Chancellor of Telšiai, Canon Beinoris, they stated they were convinced of Jakutis' innocence.
Why are Krivaitis, Dily; and Gutauskas trying so hard to have security agent Jakutis readm ted to the seminary? Why are these clergymen working not for the Church of Lithuania but for the Soviet government? Afterward, in issue No. 5 of Literature and Art (Literatūra ir Menas) dated February 4, there appeared an item on page 13 that Rev. A. Gutauskas had expounded on the situation of Lithuanian believers to American reporters—publishers of the book Journey Accross Russia: Soviet Union Today." Here is what Literature and Art writes: "The book's authors were interested in the situation of religion in Lithuania—for this subject is sometimes gladly trumpeted by the Western propaganda apparatus—they spoke with Rev. Gutauskas who is in fact currently preparing to visit the Vatican...., printed his comments on the situation of believers in the Republic."
In a word, Rev. A. Gutauskas is attempting on all fronts to harm those who fight for the freedom of the Lithuanian Church.
Msgr. Krivaitis makes frequent statements to the foreign press on the "freedom" of believers in Lithuania. It is clear why such priests defend the security agent and public sinner: they want to have another priest of their own ilk—a destroyer of the Church.
After the visit of Revs. Gutauskas and Dilys, the outraged (Mrs) Šorienė wrote a statement to the principal of the Boarding School for the Deaf in Telšiai, demanding that Jakutis' partners in immorality—his bedmate teacher Liutkevičiūtė and his friend in loose morals, teacher Stulgys—admit their guilt because, in her words, her life has become unbearable: she is constantly visited by priests, Jakutis and even security agents, all of whom make demands.
Another witness to Jakutis' transgressions, (Miss) Činskytė, tormented by her conscience, wrote a letter to the bishops and diocesan administrators of Lithuania (the Letter is reprinted below) after she was visited by Revs. Dilys and Gutauskas.
Despite the above-mentioned facts, Jakutis is currently "working" at the Nemenčinė church. In Šiauliai, he boasts to everyone that the Vilnius Chancery has diverted him "for liturgical training to the Nemenčinė parish", and he is planning to return to the seminary in the fall.
When will this affair come to an end, when will this public sinner and security agent be completely driven out of the seminary?
A Statement to: The Diocesan Administrators of Lithuania.
I am involved in a very distasteful affair. I am one of the witnesses to seminarian Jakutis' gay life. One night he was carousing with women at his friend's, who lives in my home. There was drinking.
Later, after he was expelled from the Seminary, he came to see me asking for an affidavit, asking that I forgive him, he begged and tried to weep. At first he claimed he was innocent, but seeing that it was useless, he admitted his guilt and claimed he had gone to confession. I spoke with him at length. My advice to him was as follows: You know yourself that you are weak and completely unfit to be a priest, so don't act uselessly. When I reproached him for wanting to be a priest without believing, he replied: "Everyone has doubts." At the end of our talk he stated: "Your reasoning is sound, but I will be a priest." And when I suggested that he reconsider and himself renounce the priesthood, he replied: "Perhaps I will reconsider, but not now." But when?
He is still taking steps to be readmitted to the seminary. Several days ago two men came to see me. They stated they were priests from Vilnius and wanted to inquire about Seminarian Jakutis. I recounted the main points of my conversation with Jakutis and the fact that this is not slander since he himself had admitted it. But they were not interested in this, but mainly wanted to know who had brought the whole matter to light. I blurted out: "It's strange that you are concerned not with the truth, but with who unveiled this truth!" I had the impression that these were priests who did not like the truth. The Redeemer said: "Whoever does not love the truth, is not from God."
I am therefore turning to those who still love the truth. Show more concern with eliminating the godless and seminarians of unsuitable morality from the seminary. As I see it, one godless priest will cause more joy in hell than a hundred atheist speakers. If by some reckoning we do not do everything to protect the Church from wolves in sheep's clothing, then on the day of the last judgment we will stand before the world as the Church's shame!
Telšiai, 2/2/78 (Miss) Činskytė
Some details from an account of Seminarian Ričardas Jakutis' conduct... (as related by the rector of the seminary).
During the summer of 1976 (August) seminarian Jakutis came in the company of two women to Mažeikiai from Šiauliai by city taxi to see Rev. F. Žilis who served refreshments to Ričardas and his companions. The seminarian consumed a large quantity of cognac. Both women acted very improperly. The Šiauliai taxi waited for them. Jakutis left late at night with the girls.
That same summer, seminarian Jakutis used to go drinking with similar companions in the restaurants of Klaipėda and Riga.
Such excursions were also conducted during Easter vacation, April 10-18, 1977.
Jakutis justifies his behavior as follows: the "more cool" the priest, the more he will accomplish; if he makes out well with women, he will then make out well in his ministry. As far as sins are concerned, they are forgiven in confession. Besides, celibacy applies only to priests and not to seminarians.
During Christmas 1976, Ričardas Jakutis arrived at 1:00 A.M. with a friend and two girls at Draugystės, No. 13. The friend vanished somewhere, and the seminarian became so carried away that his neighbor (Mrs) Šorienė who had a small infant, could no longer stand the noise and barged into the room tc warn him. She found Jakutis completely naked with a girl in a position she is ashamed even to describe. A bottle of cognac stood on the table (there was drinking).
In January 1977, Jakutis spent the night with a friend and two women at the apartment of Jurkus at Tarybų, 17-4.
At the end of June 1977, he came at night by taxi from Šiauliai to Šermukšnių g. No. 4. There was heavy drinking. The party included two more friends and three women. The taxi waited and left at 3:00 A.M. Jakutis left with the girls.
Jakutis' constant companion is (Miss) Liutkevičiūtė who is employed as a teacher at the Telšiai Boarding School for the Deaf and Dumb. She also teaches German at other schools.
Jakutis himself did not deny the facts, but admitted his guilt. The local pastor paid for the taxi.
7/29/77 Rector of the Seminary
