George Matulaitis Journal

247 very recently, Vaclovas Bir i ka held that position, and I knew from the Lithuanians that as long as he remained commissar, no decree banning religious education would be issued. Thus, until now all had been quiet. On April 7th I invited the Cathedral Chapter to discuss the question of religious education and the schools. I made an extensive summary of the course of events from the time the Bolsheviks entered Vilnius, and also related what I had done, what directives and orders I had issued. I consulted with the members of the Chapter about what further action should be taken and especially whether a pastoral letter should be written and what form it should take, or if we ought to wait until the present situation becomes clearer. If we really want to begin a campaign against the Bolsheviks, we must appeal to the people directly and ask them if they have authorized the commissars to issue such a decree and if they want the schools and the educational system to be without any religious instruction. If not, then what do they propose to do so religious education would remain in the schools. We decided to wait until things become clearer and to see what the Commissar will tell the parents’ delegates. I called in Father Chomski and told him to write up several resolutions for the parents’ representatives so that they would not go to the commissar unprepared. They should take these resolutions with them and present them to the commissar in writing when they go to see him. Otherwise, he may distort or ignore what they are saying to him or try to confuse them in their speech and direct the meeting to his own advantage. It was not possible to send members of the educated classes, and so the common people, selected members of the working class, went. On April 8th Father Chomski brought me a summary of the resolutions, and we corrected the text. I ordered it typed and taken to the Commissar. I asked that the parents come to see me right after they met with the Commissar. The parents’ delegation met with the Commissar on April 9th. They expressed their anger verbally and also delivered their demands and resolutions in writing. I asked them whether it would be worthwhile to issue a pastoral letter now. They answered that it was not yet time. We talked about the possibility of having a parents’