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CHRONICLE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN LITHUANIA, No. 67 
In this issue:
1. Echoes of the Jubilee of Blessed Mykolas Giedraitis
3. A Letter to the Editor of the C h ro n i c l e (Let Us Stop and Think)
4. The KGB Terrorizes Father Jonas Kastytis Matulionis
7. Material From the Chronicle Archives
CHRONICLE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN LITHUANIA No. 67
A Translation of the Complete Lithuanian Original LIETUVOS KATALIKŲ BAŽNYČIOS KRONIKA Nr. 67 Documenting the Struggle for Human Rights In Soviet-Occupied Lithuania Today
Translated by: Rev. Casimir Pugevičius
Translation Editor: Marian Skabeikis
Published by Lithuanian Catholic Religious Aid, Inc.
351 Highland Blvd. Brooklyn, NY 11207
©Lithuanian Catholic Religious Aid 1986
ISSN 0197-0348
Franciscan Fathers Press 341 Highland Blvd. Brooklyn, NY 11207
COVER:
Father Jonas Kastytis Matulionis, see p. 13
CHRONICLE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN LITHUANIA No. 67
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, 2.5% Orthodox and 0.2% of other persuasions.
In the two archdioceses and four dioceses were: 708 churches, 314 chapels, 37 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 25, 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 of prayers in schools was forbidden. The University's Department of 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 very limited scale. The clergy were spied upon constantly.
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.
Vincentas Borisevičius, Bishop of Telšiai, was arrested on February 3, 1946, and condemned to death after a secret trial. Before year's end, his auxiliary, Bishop Pranas Ramanauskas, was also arrested and deported to Siberia. Bishop Teofilius Matulionis of Kaišiadorys and Archbishop Mečislovas Reinys of Vilnius were deported to a Siberian labor camp. Archbishop Reinys perished in prison at Vladimir, November 8, 1953. By 1947, Lithuania was left with a single bishop, Kazimieras Paltarokas, of Panevėžys. He died in 1958.
In 1947, the last convents and monasteries were closed, their communities dispersed, and all monastic institutions were outlawed
After Stalin's death in 1953, there was a slight improvement in the religious situation. Bishops Matulionis and Ramanauskas were allowed to return to Lithuania, but not to minister to their dioceses or to communicate with the clergy or laity.
Bishop Ramanauskas died in 1959, and Archbishop Matulionis in 1963.
In 1955, two new bishops were appointed by Rome and consecrated: Julijonas Steponavičius and Petras Maželis. Steponavičius has never been permitted to administer his diocese.
Bishop Vincentas Sladkevičius, consecrated in 1957, was kept under severe government restrictions until 1982. In 1965, Monsignor Juozas Labukas-Matulaitis was consecrated in Rome to head the Archdiocese of Kaunas and the Diocese of Vilkaviškis. Two new bishops were consecrated in 1969: Bishop Romualdas Krikščiūnas was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Panevėžys, and Bishop Liudvikas Povilonis was appointed auxiliary to Bishop Labukas, and succeeded him after his death in 1979.
In 1982, Bishop Sladkevičius was permitted to return to his diocese as Apostolic Administrator of Kaišiadorys. Father Antanas Vaičius was named bishop and Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Telšiai and the Prelature of Klaipėda
Relaxation of pressure on religions believers soon revealed that the Lithuanian people were still deeply religious. It was decided in the mid-fifties to resume the attack. The principal means of attack would be unlimited moral pressure, since physical terror seemed only to strengthen and unify the faithful.
In 1972, the Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania, clandestinely published in that country, began to reach the free world at irregular intervals. Primarily intended to keep Catholics in Lithuania informed of the situation of the Church there, these Lithuanian samizdat also serve as a constant appeal to the free world not to forget the plight of a people struggling against overwhelming odds to defend their religious beliefs and to regain their basic human rights.
Rev. Casimir Pugevičius Translator
INDEX OF PERSONS
.... Juozas 23
Adam 9, 12 Aliulis, Father Vaclovas 16, 37, 52 Andriuškevičius, Father Antanas 16 Anilionis, Petras 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 47, 48, 50, 51 Antanaitis, Canon Bronius, 27, 40 Aškelovičius, Father Josifas 16
Baciuškas 54 Baciuškas, Algis 54 Bakučionis, Jurgis 45, 46 Balaišis, Father A. 36 Barac, Galina 34, 35 Barac, Vasili 34 Baranauskas, Bishop Antanas 4 Beniušis, Father Antanas 37 Bieliauskienė, Jadvyga 56 Borisevičius, Bishop Vincentas i Boruta, Father Jonas 16 Boškevičius 54 Boškevičius, Boleslovas 54, 55 Brezhnev, Leonid 32 Bulika, Father Bronius 37 Bužinskienė, Mrs. 55
Čeponis, Father Aldas 16 Černiauskas, Father Vladas 16 Čukuras, Father Viktoras Vilius 7, 38
Danyla, Father Antanas 42 Daunoras, Father Petras 16 Dranginytė, Ona 19 Dulksnys, Msgr. Kazimieras 2, 27 Dylys, Father Andreus Gerardas 7
Filipčik, Father Antonas 16
Gailius, Father Kazimieras 16 Giedraitis, Bishop Merkelis 4 Giedraitis, Blessed Mykolas 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 38 Girnius, Juozas 36 Gorbachev, Dr. Mikhail 48 Gražulis 54 Gražulis, Father Juozas 39 Grishin 34 Grubliauskas, Jurgis 55 Gucevičius, Laurencijus Stuoka 22 Gudžiūnas 15, 16 Gulustian, E. S. 48 Guoba 30
Iešmantas, Gintautas 56 Ignotas 41
Jakutis, Father Ignas 16 Jankauskaitė, Janina 54 Janulis 31 Jaskelevičius, Father Vytautas 16 Jokuhauskas, Father Antanas 39, 40 Judas 9, 11, 12
Kakarcika, Father Stanislovas 16 Kalinauskas, Father Leonas 42 Kardelis, Father Jonas 16 Kaškevičius, Father Aleksandras 16 Kaubrys 45 Kazlauskas, Father Algis 16 Keina, Father Algimantas 16, 37 Kelpšas, Saulius 36 Kindurys, Father Kazimieras 16 Kizas 44 Kovalev, Sergei 31 Krikščiukaitis, Father Kastytis 38 Krikščiūnas, Bishop Romualdas ii, 2 Kukta, Father Jonas 16 Kunišauskas, Father Alfredas 16
Labukas-Matulaiktis, Bishop Juozas ii Lapienienė, Elena 18, 20 Lapienius, Vladas 18, 19, 20, 56 Lauriūnas, Father Jonas, 16 Leita, A. 51 Lipniūnas, Father Alfonsas 52 Liuima, V. 36 Ložienė, Mrs. 44 Luote, A. 36
Maironis 7, 38 Markevičius, Father Stasys 16 Masilionis, Father Pranciškus 20 22, 35, 36 Matulaitis, Archbishop Jurgis 9, 12 Matulionis, Bishop Teofilius i, ii Matulionis, Father Jonas Kastytis 1, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 37, 39, 41, 43, 44, 45, 55, 56 Maželis, Bishop Petras ii Meilius, Father Kazys 16 Merkys, Father Alfonsas 16 Mintaučkis, Father 37 Molis, Father Konstantinas 16 Murauskas 19, 31
Navickas, Father Zenonas 7 Nistelis 24 Novickis, Father Vladislovas 16
Olšauskas 41, 42, 43
Pakalka, Father Nikodemas 52 Palšis, Father 40 Paltarokas, Bishop Kazimieras, ii, 24 Paplauskas 22, 24, 25, 28, 31 Paulaitis, Petras 42 Paulionis, Father Edmundas 16 Pečeliūnas, Povilas 56 Petkevičius, Father M. 37 Petkus, Viktoras 56 Petravičius, Father Mykolas 16 Petrikas, Father Konstantinas 44 Petronis, Father Alfonsas 16 Piman 38 Pope John Paul II 9 Povilonis, Archbishop Liudas (Liudvikas) ii, 38 Pudžemis, Father Adolfas 44 Puidokas, Father Donatas 16 Puidokas, Father, Stasys 16 Pukėnas, Father Kazimieras 16 Pūkas, Father Vytautas 16 Puodžiukas, Juozas 19, 20 Purlys, Father Petras 16 Pušinis 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 Puzonas, Father Rokas 7, 37,38,45, 46
Raižytė, Aldona 55 Ramanauskas, Bishop Pranas i Reinys, Archbishop Mečislovas i Rekunkov, A.M. 32 Repšys, Father Ričardas 7
Saint Casimir 3, 9, 37 Saint Dominic 20 Saint Francis 13 Saint Paul 2 Saint Peter 2 Saja, Kazys 10 Sakavičius, Father Bronius 16 Šapoka, Father Leonas 46 Sasnauskas, Julius 36, 56 Saulius, Father Justinas 16 Savickas, Father Leonas 16 Savickas, Father Marijonas 16 Šeškevičius, Father Antanas 40 Severiną 52 Simonaitis, Father Antanas 16 Sk iparis, Father Vytautas 37 Skuodis, Vytautas 32, 33, 56 Sladkevičius, Bishop Vincentas ii, 3, 36, 37, 38 Slankauskas 53 Slėnys, Father Jordanas 16 Stalin ii Steponavičius, Bishop Julijonas ii, 2, 35, 36 Strazdas, Father B. 37 Striokas, Vidmantas 36 Stulgys, Kazimieras 36 Svarinskas, Father Alfonsas 11, 14 16, 17, 36, 42, 44, 45, 55, 56
Tamkevičius, Father Sigitas 11, 14, 16, 17, 43, 44, 45, 55, 56 Tamulaitis, Father Alfonsas 16 Taraškevičius, Father Česlovas 16 Tarvydas, Father Petras 16 Teresius, Adolfas 38
Terleckas, Antanas 36 Tunaitis, Father Juozas 37 Tunaitis, Father Steponas 16
Ulickas, Father Albertas 16 Uogintas, Father Jonas 30, 31 Urbonas, Father Juozas 16
Vaičius, Bishop Antanas ii, 37, 38 47 Vailionis, Jonas 36 Vaitonis, Father Jonas 16 Valančiauskas, Father Domas 16 Valančius, Bishop Motiejus 4, 5 Valatka, Father Antanas 16 Valiukėnas, Father Stanislovas 13, 16 Valiukonis, Father Donatas 16, 35, 37 Verikas, Father V. 16 Verts, Father Juozas 16 Virbalas, Lionginas 36
Zemėnas, Father Kazimieras 16 Žemaitis, Father Mykolas 16 Žemaitis, Romas 15, 16, 17, 56
INDEX OF PLACES
Aleksotas 17 Alytus 54, 55 Alytus II, 17 Aščiagaliai 24, 28, 29, 31
Bagotoji 17 Balbieriškis 17 Batakiai 47, 48 Birštonas 17 Biržai 40, 41 Būdvietis 17
Calvary of tlie Samogitians (Žemaičių Kalvarija) 43 Craeow 4, 9
Daukšiai 17 Druskininkai 17
Gardašiai 18 Gargždai 31, 48, 50, 52 Garliava 18 Gelgaudiškis 17 Geniai 54 Giedraičiai, 6, 38 Girdžiai 17, 37 Gižai 18 Griškabūdis 17 Gudeliai 18
Hill of Grosses 11, 52
Igliauka 17 Ilguva 17 Išlaužas 18
Joniškis 37 Josvainiai 42
Kaimelis 18 Kaišiadorys ii, 3, 38, 45 Kalesnykai 18 Kaliniu 31 Kalvarija 18 Kapčiamiestis 18 Kapsukas 18 Kasių Būda 18 Kaunas I, ii, 17, 19, 21, 35, 38, 39, 44, 55 Kiaukliai 45 Klaipėda ii, 31, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52 Kražiai 21 Kretinga 40 Krikštonys 18 Kriokialaukis 18 Kučiūnai 18 Kudirkos Naumiestis 18 Kupiškis 20, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 Kybartai 14, 15, 16, 17
Lėvenas 23 Lazdijai 18 Leipalingis 18 Lekėčiai 18 Linkuva 21 Liškiava 18 Lukiškis 14 Lukšiai 18
Magadan 31 Marcinkonys 18, 52 Meilaičiai 53 Meteliai 18 Miroslavas 18, 55 Molėtai 6 Mordovia 32, 34 Mosėdis 44 Moscovv 34, 38, 45, 51
Pabaiskas 54 Pakuonis 18 Palėvenė 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30 Paluobiai 18 Panemunė 18, 55 Panevėžys ii, 2, 18, 27, 38, 39, 40 Patilčiai 18 Pažėrai 18 Pažaislis 21Petrošiūnai 55 Pilviškiai 18 Plokščiai 18 Plutiškės 18 Prienai 18 Punia 18
Raudondvaris 18 Reičiai 18 Riga 44 Rome ii Rostov 34 Rovno 34 Rudamina 18 Rumbonys 18
Šakiai 18, 41, 42 Saločiai 36 Samogitia 31 Sangrūda 18 Santaika 18 Sasnava 18 Šatės 44 Šeduva 40 Seirijai 18 Šeštokai 18 Šiauliai 24, 52, 53 Siberia i, 38 Šilavotas 18 Šiluva 43 Simnas 18 Sintautai-18 Širvintai 45 Skardupiai 18 Skriaudžiai 18 Skuodas 43, 44 Smolensk 13 Šlavantai 18 Spain 37 Šunskai 18 Šventažeris 18
Tabariškės 18 Tauragė 47 Telšiai i, ii, 38, 40, 47, 54 Tilžė (Tilsit) 4 Transcarpathia 34 Truikinai 44 Tryškiai 54 Tytuvėnai 21
Ūdrija 18 Ukmergė 42, 54 Utena 18 Valkininkai 18 Varėna 52 Vatican 45 Veisiejai 18 Veiveriai 18 Vepriai 38, 39 Viduklė 17, 18, 37 Vilkaviškis i, ii, 18, 38, 39 Vilnius i, 3, 7, 13, 15, 16, 18, 21, 24, 25, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 35, 38, 39, 40, 52 Višakio-Rūda 18 Vladimir i
Z. Panemunė 18 Žagarė 35, 37 Žarėnai - Latveliai 53 Žvėrynas 38 Zapyškis 18
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