George Matulaitis Journal

153 Of all the speeches, the one given by Father Tumas 1 impressed me the most. He said: “We have priests who are politicians, nationalists, social activists, and the like, but what we do not have is one who is both father and pastor. Whenever one of us needs to go to confession or make a retreat, there is no one to turn to and nowhere to go.” He expressed the hope that I would be the one to restore the ideals of the Church and to revive the Spirit of Christ. The next day, together with Monsignor Bajko and Canon Lubianiec (Kretowicz was also there at first), we went over the arrangements for the installation once again. I said that I thought the papal bull ought to be read in Polish, Lithuanian, and Belorussian, but that I would speak first of all in Polish and later in Lithuanian. Both the Lithuanian Council and the Belorussians, the latter in writing, had urgently requested that there be something for the Belorussians. Since I do not know Belorussian and would not dare speak in it, I would at least like to have the bull read in Belorussian. Canon Lubianiec protested vehemently that there were no Belorussians, only a handful of people who have been assembled and bribed by the Germans to make trouble for the Polish population. Such a gesture on my part would not be well received by the Poles, and I would ruin my episcopal installation. Once more I reminded him that even the Polish daily Dziennik Wile < ski concedes that the Belorussians make up 17% of the population and thus it would only be fair to have the bull read in Belorussian. I asked the Chapter to reconsider this matter carefully since I did not want to offend any part of my flock nor turn them against me or against the Church. I want to serve and be pastor to all without exception. I felt very sorry for this despised nation, and I wanted them to be aware that their bishop does not look down on them or on 1 Juozas Tumas (1869-1933): a well-known Lithuanian priest, ordained in 1893; he had been active in promoting the underground Lithuanian press before WW I, was now working as a journalist and writer in Vilnius under the pen name “Vai ? gantas.” He edited various Lithuanian newspapers from 1918 to 1920, then moved to Kaunas, where he lived and worked until his death in 1933.