Telšiai
During the night of July 9, 1983, unknown culprits again tore up the Wayside Shrine standing in the churchyard, and carried off the newly installed image of the Rūpintojėlis ("The Pensive Christ).
Viešvėnai (Rayon of Telšiai).
During the night of April 20-21, 1983, the images of two kneeling angels and of the Sorrowful Mother of God, carved from wood by an unknown folk artist, were stolen from the Wayside Shrine in the Viešvėnai churchyard.
Plungė
Father Ignacas Žeberskis, who completed theological studies by correspondence (the underground seminary — Trans. Note) and, while working as assistant organist at the church in Plungė, used to help the pastor, Canon Gasčiūnas, in pastoral ministry. At the beginning of 1982, the pastor of Plungė, Canon Gasčiūnas, appealed to the diocesan chancery, asking them to intervene with Commissioner for Religious Affairs Petras Anilionis to obtain certification for Father Žeberskis to serve as associate pastor.
Anilionis threatened the bishop that he would close those churches where such priests as Žeberskis (that is, those not having government permission) worked.
In response to the request, Anilionis wrote to the Plungė parish committee and the pastor, threatening to close the church in Plungė if Father Žeberskis continued to work there.
Anilionis suggested to the bishop that he send Father Žeberskis back to the seminary in Kaunas or Riga and re-ordain him to the priesthood. The priest in question is almost sixty years old.
Skardupiai (Rayon of Kapsukas)
On July 28, 1983, in the church in Skardupiai, children were being tested for First Confession and Communion, and eligibility cards were being handed out for the Sacrament of Confirmation. Coming to the church, Chairman Markevičius of the Kapsukas Rayon Executive Committee, the Director of the Department of Education and some other individuals accused the pastor, Father Boleslovas Česelskis, of teaching children.
"I have taught them, and will continue to teach them," replied the pastor, demanding that the offcials stop frightening the children and leave the house of prayer.
Later, as a result of the above incident, the parish of Skardupiai was overrun with militia officers, and officials of the executive committee, and, so they said, even from the Prosecutor's office. The children, their parents and members of the parish committee were interrogated and intimidated, as was Father Česelskis. On August 23, the pastor, Father Česelskis, was fined 20 rubles.
Molėtai.
On July 1, 1983, Secretary Mrs. Dauborienė of the Municipal Executive Committee, Insurance Inspector Mrs. Ustinchiuk and a female militia officer came to the church of Molėtai. In church, the committee found Miss Stasė Rokaitė preparing a group of children for First Communion. The new arrivals wrote up a report of this "offense".
On September 10, Stasė Rokaitė was summoned to see Prosecutor Besusparis. That same day, they summoned Fourth-Class pupils Miss Kavaliauskaitė, Miss Bastijokaitė, Tarvydas, Meškėnas, Gaive-lis and others. The children were questioned about Stasė Rokaitė: Who had taught them religion? Who had given them catechisms? . . .
On September 19, a meeting of the Administrative Committee fined Stasė Rokaitė 50 rubles and warned her not to repeat such "offenses" anymore.
Telšiai
Since 1981, Concertmaster Mrs. Zita Vasauskienė of the Telšiai School of Culture has been persecuted because the KGB found out that she occasionally plays the organ in the Cathedral of Telšiai. Just before Christmas, 1981, in the offices of the Rayon Executive Committee, she was warned not to play at the Cathedral during the holidays. Vice Chairman Jankus warned Mrs. Vasauskienė, "If you continue to direct the little choir at the cathedral, we will not let you work at the School of Culture. Choose for yourself: Either school, or go work for the church."
Mrs. Vasauskienė's excuse that she plays at the cathedral during her leisure time did not help. Since Mrs. Vasauskienė did not say that she would stop playing at the cathedral, her hours at the School of Culture since September 1, 1982, were cut in half and since May 1, 1983, she has been discharged from work "as not carrying out the tasks of Communist work." Moreover, Mrs. Vasauskienė was faulted for attending the religious festival at Maiden Hill (Panų Kalnas).
At the present time, she is not being allowed to continue studies with the Extension Division of the Klaipėda Conservatory.
Kelmė
On May 29, 2983, during a religious festival at the parish of Žalpiai in Kelmė Rayon, signatures were being collected on a protest against the sentencing of Father Alfonsas Svarinskas and the arrest of Father Sigitas Tamkevičius. After the principal Mass, chekist Lapinskas, who had been drinking, entered the church, and tried to take the text with its signatures away from Arvydas Juška, but for this he was beaten up by the people.
That same day, the militia and KGB began looking for the perpetrators. For this purpose, the Rayon Prosecutor visited the pastor of the parish Sunday evening, and at the Kelmė bus station, the following were detained: Miss Regina Teresiūtė, the Žalpiai parish organist and some young men who had been collecting signatures, Arvydas Jaška and Alvydas Vainoras. They were all falsely accused of organizing a street fight. The militia officers pushed the arrested young men around, twisted their arms and derided them. Juška and Vainoras were interrogated and released the next day. Miss Teresiūtė was interrogated for three days. She was called a drunkard, and threatened with confinement to the psychiatric hospital and kept in the same cell for one day with a chain-smoking female criminal. When M iss Teresiūtė asked officials not to let the woman smoke so much, the militiamen only jeered.
On March 30, 1983, a search was carried out at the apartment of (Miss Teresiūtė, who lives at Kelmė, Laisvės 11. The search was carried out without presentation of a warrant, and in the absence of Miss Teresiūtė. Its purpose was to seize a typewriter, duplicating machine and machine for counterfeiting money. The search was carried out by two militiamen and three KGB agents (three others woud come in from time to time).
When the chekists were not given the keys, they opened the hall door with their own, and gained access to the rooms through windows. Seized were: a Sony cassette recorder, eleven cassettes, Zorky and Fedmicron cameras, a protest to the Prosecutor General of the USSR (eight copies), a petition to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the LSSR (two copies) twelve pages of verse, three notebooks containing texts, one package of typing paper, four typewriter cassettes, one pack of copying paper, twenty-six rolls of film, twenty-seven photographs of Father Svarinskas, three photographs of a general nature, a small calendar, twenty books in type-script, one hundred-eighty pages of miscellaneous typescript and four slides.
The chekists returned on May 31, to continue their search in the apartment. They took: the underground publication Alma Mater and a photo ruler. Under interrogation, Miss Teresiūtė refused to speak about the articles seized during the raid, arguing that the search had been carried out without her knowledge. The KGB suggested that Miss Teresiūtė change her attitude and cooperate, promising that she could enroll in any school she wished. Miss Teresiūtė proclaimed a hunger strike from the first to the last day of her detention.
Lithuanian, don't forget!
1. Father Alfonsas Svarinskas
2. Father Sigitas Tamkevičius
3. Jadvyga Bieliauskienė
4. Sergei Kovalev
5. Viktoras Petkus
6. Balys Gajauskas
7. Vytautas Skuodis
8. Povilas Pečeliūnas
9. Gintautas Iešmantas
10.Antanas Terleckas
11.Julius Sasnauskas
12.Mečislovas Jurevičius
and others wear the chains of imprisonment so that you might be able to live and believe in freedom.
