CHRONICLE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN LITHUANIA No. 33 

 In This Issue:

    The New Constitution Discriminates Against Believers             

    To the World's Conscience 

    What's New in the Gulag?

    Which Priests Are Shielding the Security Agent?  

    KGB—Hands Off the Seminary! 

    In Telšiai—Raslanas the Murderer 

    News From the Dioceses 

    In the Soviet School

    Catholics in the Soviet Union 

    New Underground Publications  

 

Lithuania .........................................  May 31, 1978

CHRONICLE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN LITHUANIA No. 33

A Translation of the Complete Lithuanian Original, LIETUVOS KATALIKŲ BAŽNYČIOS KRONIKA No.33 Documenting the Struggle for Human Rights In Soviet-Occupied Lithuania Today

Translated by: Vita Matusaitis Translation Editor: Rev. Casimir Pugevičius Published by the Lithuanian R.C. Priests' League of America 351 Highland Blvd. Brooklyn, NY 11207

©Lithuanian Roman Catholic Priests' League of America 1978

Printed by Franciscan Fathers Press 341 Highland Blvd. Brooklyn, NY 11207

CHRONICLE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN LITHUANIA Nr. 33

Introduction

In 1940, when the Soviet Union occupied Lithuania by force, 85.5% of the country's more than 3 million inhabitants were Roman Catholic, 4.5% Protestant, 7.3% Jewish, 2.4% Orthodox and 0.2% of other persuasions.

In the two archdioceses and four dioceses were: 708 churches, 314 chapels, 73 monasteries, 85 convents, three archbishops, nine bishops, 1271 diocesan priests, 580 monks, of whom 168 were priests. Four seminaries had 470 students. There were 950 nuns.

Nuns cared for 35 kindergartens, 10 orphanages, 25 homes for the aged, two hospitals, a youth center, and an institute for the deaf-mute.

On June 15, 1940, the Red Army marched into Lithuania; the independent government was replaced by a puppet regime.

On July 14-15 rigged elections were staged. On July 21, with the Red Army surrounding the assembly house, the new People's Diet "unanimously" declared Lithuania a Soviet Socialist Republic.

On June 27, 1940, the Church was declared separate from the state, and the representative of the Holy See was expelled.

Parish lands were confiscated, clergy salaries and pensions were cut off, and their savings confiscated. Churches were deprived of support. Catholic printing plants were confiscated and religious books destroyed.

On June 28, 1940, the teaching of religion and recitation ol prayers in schools was forbidden. The University's Department oi Theology and Philosophy was abolished, and all private schools were nationalized. The seminaries at Vilkaviškis and Telšiai were closed and the seminary at Kaunas was permitted to operate on a verj limited scale. The clergy were spied upon constandy.

On June 15, 1941, 34,260 Lithuanians were packed off in cattle cars to undisclosed points in the Soviet Union. After World War II the mass deportations resumed and continued until 1953.

ecclesiastical forms of administration. In reality, all decisions are made by the state-appointed Deputy for Religious Affairs— an atheist.

It is the story of the struggle between clergy who have decided for one reason or another to cooperate with the regime, and stubborn dissident priests and faithful insisting on rights under the Soviet Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Natural Law.

It is the record of heroic parents of children, who insist on rearing their offspring in the Catholic Faith, against all efforts by teachers and government youth leaders to dragoon youngsters into various Communist youth organizations.

The Chronicle is the record of mere school children risking the wrath of atheistic teachers and even of Security police, to go to church or sing in a choir.

Constantly harassed in one way or another, the religious believers of Lithuania find themselves in the position of second-class citizens.

Denied access to mass media to tell their story, or to religious literature to nourish their faith, the Catholics of Lithuania find it necessary to photo-copy such religious literature as they can lay their hands on.

Ironically, the Soviet constitution, under which the people of Lithuania are forced to live, contains glowing guarantees of freedom of conscience, of assembly, of press, and of speech.

In practice, such constitutional guarantees are over-ridden by unwritten administrative decrees, verbal interpretations, and galling bureaucratic high-handedness, giving atheism the position of the established religion of the Soviet Union and its subject territories.

The message of the Chronicle, loud and clear, is that the atheistic government is slowly strangling the Church in Lithuania, while doing its best to make it look like the Church is dying a natural death. The people of Lithuania are risking imprisonment, labor camp, and torture to make sure that we are not deceived.

Rev. Casimir Pugevičius Translation Editor

INDEX OF PERSONS

Aklienė, Kazimiera 32

Balevičiūtė, Aldona 35-36

Blažukas, P. 22-23

Butkevičienė, Janė 32

Česonienė, Danutė 31

Cinskytė, Miss 19-20

Dalgela, R. 28

Daniliauskienė, E. 34

Dapkutė, Irena 36-37

Gajauskas, Balys 15, 16

Jadikavičiutė, Dalia 36

Kackus, Saulius 37

Lapienė, Elena 17

Lapienis, Vladas 17

Laurinavičius, Rev. 29

Mickevičius, Bronius 34

Paulionis, E. 28

Petkus, Viktoras 16, 28

Pūkas, V. 22

Remėzienė, Mrs. 26

Šeškevičius, Rev. Antanas 31

Sėlenienė, Magdalena 32

Sladkevičius, Bishop Vincent 6

Steponavičius, Bishop Julijonas 6

Šonienė, Mrs. 18-19, 21

 

INDEX OF PLACES

Aukštadvaris, 39

Druskininkai, 35-36

Gargždai, 30-31

Ignalina, 40

Kaunas, 28, 29

Kretinga, 37

Kybartai, 37-38

Leipalingis, 38

Notėnai, 33

Palanga, 40

Prienai, 39

Salos, 31, 32

Šiauliai, 36-37

Skuodas, 32

Stebuliai, 38

Tauragė, 30

Telšiai, 20, 23-27, 30, 36

Užguostis, 39

Vilnius, 27

Vepriai, 35

Zarasai, 31

Žalioji, 34-35

Žvirgždaičiai, 34

Zuikai, 40-41

Places mentioned in the Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania No.33