George Matulaitis Journal

226 schools. When the Germans forced the parents to send their children to school and gave them Belorussian catechisms, the priests tried to convince the parents and the children that these catechisms were not approved by the proper authorities and were not Catholic. However, in spite of all this, the national consciousness of the Belorussians is rising; now there are groups of nationally conscious Belorussian young people. This seminarian went on to tell me that at the Zhitomir Seminary the Poles also hate the Ukrainians and are agitating against them. One sem- inarian dared to admit outright that he was Ukrainian; however, this coura- geous fellow suffered because of it. They try to convince the that only Poles are real Catholics. One priest, a Polish Jesuit, during a retreat at the seminary, spoke very unfavorably about the Union, 1 actually disparaging it. He urged the seminarians to use only the Polish language. Sztafinski had the opportunity to stay in the rural parishes of the Ukraine and to meet with Catholic people. Usually they addressed him in Ukrainian and only a few spoke Polish. However, boycotting the Ukrainian language in the churches destroys the possibility of converting the Ukrainian Orthodox. I told the seminarian how in Switzerland and elsewhere the priests serve all the people regardless of national differences. I encouraged him and others to serve everyone equally after they left the seminary. For my part, I said that I would never despise anyone because of his language or nationality. My only wish is that each of them should have an apostle’s heart and spirit. I am ready to support the good efforts of every nation and am happy to see that the work is progressing, that each nation is thriving, and that people adhere to the Church. It is my duty to see that the work of each priest continues along the paths directed and outlined by the Church. They have been continually trying to intimidate me with talk that the Bolsheviks will arrest and exile me. I have now become accustomed to such talk. 1 Probably a reference to the Union of Brest in 1596, when a Church synod held in Brest [Brze >: in Polish] (Belorussia) proclaimed the union of the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church. This union encompassed only the territory of Lithuania and Poland. Several joint dioceses were formed under the lead- ership of the Metropolitan of Kiev. Large numbers of these Orthodox believers came into union with the Catholic Church and were known as “Uniates”.