George Matulaitis Journal

181 I answered Mr. Wróblewski that I cannot allow religion to be banned in the schools. It is the parents’ duty to protest this, and the teachers should bring out the fact that this would be detrimental from the educational standpoint. He asked me whether the Lithuanian parents intend to protest. I replied that, as far as I know, they do. From my conversation with Mr. Wróblewski and other Polish delegates, it became clear that if I had told him that we, both the priests and lay Catholics, would boycott those schools where religion had been abolished, the Poles would have accused the Church and the clergy of undermining Polish society and the educational system. They would be busy accusing us, while the various groups of Polish socialists would have used the situation to attack the Church. After Mr. Wróblewski had gone, Mr. Ko>cia=kowski , the principal of the Boys’ First Secondary School, came in. He is a good Catholic, but there are also non-Catholic teachers at his school. Then he went on to say much the same thing as Mr. Wróblewski. He requested that I issue some guidelines on the matter and try to reconcile the quarreling factions. I answered him that my directives could only be those provided by the Church. 1) Catholic parents have both a duty and the right to demand that their children be educated in a Catholic spirit. I opened the book of Canon Law and read the appropriate article to the principal. 2) If the Bolsheviks decide to abolish religious instruction in the schools, the parents are obliged to protest. 3) In my opinion, the Catholic teachers should at least make a statement that, taking into account social values, the desires of both parents and children, as well as educational goals, religious instruction should remain. 4) I also said: “I cannot interfere with your negotiations with the Bolsheviks. Do what you can to ensure that the teaching of religion continues. But if the Bolsheviks abolish it by force, there is not much that you can do. Then we will see what this new secularized school will be like. If it becomes evident that these schools undermine and destroy religious faith, then it is obvious that Catholic parents cannot send their children to such institutions; and if they do so, the priests cannot give them absolution.” 5)“You should not imagine,” I told him, “that if the Bolsheviks give the secondary schools financial support, they will allow them to be conducted in a Catholic spirit as they have been up to now. If they give you money, they will want the