George Matulaitis Journal

157 Polish delegation to speak first, followed by the Lithuanians, and that this order should be preserved. I answered that, in my opinion, it was a matter of civil courtesy. In church I had spoken in Polish first, then in Lithuanian, since the Poles are in the majority. But the Lithuanian Council is, after all, a kind of government. The Holy Father had greeted it; in Munich, Nuncio Pacelli had negotiated with it; 1 the Germans had given it a certain measure of authority. Besides, it represented a significant part of the country. Consequently, it seemed to me that according to civil protocol, it should be given first place. The other members of the Chapter said nothing against this, and Bishop O’Rourke 2 agreed with me. Canon Lubianiec then insisted that I immediately go to see the delegations, since they were waiting. It had been decided that I would meet with the delegations at two o’clock. However, I said that as soon as the representatives of the Lithuanian Council arrived, everything should be stopped and the Council members allowed to come in. Lubianiec said that perhaps it would be better if I received them separately in a little room. I replied that it would be better not to receive them at all than to insult them in this way. The greetings began: first came the Polish representatives; afterward, the Lithuanian; and then, the Belorussian. Canon Lubianiec wanted me to reply to the Poles immediately after I had heard them out. Apparently, he wanted the Poles to be free to leave after I had spoken to them. But I said that I would reply to each group in turn, after I had heard all that the various delegations had to say. To the best of my ability, I spoke sincerely first to the Poles, then to the Lithuanians, and finally to the Belorussians. I addressed the latter in Polish, since I did not know any Belorussian. I told them all that I had come to serve everyone equally, to love them all without exception and that in the relations between nations, as between 1 On March 24, 1918, three delegates appointed by the Lithuanian Council, headed by Fr. J. Staugaitis, presented a statement of Lithuanian independence to Nuncio Pacelli in Munich, requesting him to intercede with Pope Benedict XV to acknowledge Lithuania as an independent country. 2. Eduard O’Rourke had been designated Bishop of Riga (Latvia) but was not yet consecrated.