On November 28, 1979, the Vilnius People's Institute for the Advanced Training of Agricultural Experts hosted responsible leaders from that institute and its Kaunas counterpart. Secretary L. Šepetys of the Lithuanian Communist Party Central Committee attended this session and gave a lecture entitled"Questions of Ideological Work."
"Our primary task," said Šepetys, "is to improve the political function of education because extremist elements from abroad have intensified their activities." The agitated secretary first raised the question of religion, which, in his opinion, is very troublesome because reactionary priests and other elements are continually strengthening their disruptive activities." Even Pope John Paul II, in implementing the Vatican's goals, has begun reactionary activities. The pope's trip to Poland shook the Catholics of our republic as well.
"Therefore, it is essential to intensify internationalistic education, and the Russian language must be used ever more extensively. There is no need to worry about the fate of the Lithuanian language.
"Moral upbringing is a concern of our society. Alcoholism, the cause of many crimes, and the number of divorces have risen sharply.
"People who work in the fields of culture and art are, at the same time, also educators. Therefore, their duty is to promote ideological work. Foreign fads are intruding in literature and art. Literature deals with themes which are incompatible with Communist morals: narrow-minded urbanism predominates.
"National heritage activities are also very distrubing, as are ethnographic groups and their interest in the past. This hinders an awareness of present-day life, narrowing the overall view of the accomplishments of Soviet society. Through ethnography and national heritage research, bourgeois ideology creeps in, especially among students."
