George Matulaitis Journal

best if you acknowledge Lithuania and Belorussia as they have been in the past.” Let the people convene an assembly here in Vilnius and decide on their relations with their neighbors. Osmo = owski maintained that this was the policy they had in mind, but that up to now the parliament in Warsaw viewed matters differently. Now a change of policy has occurred. They want a union of equal and free people. I said that they should get in touch with Kaunas on this matter and consult with the Lithuanian government there. Here in Vilnius I pointed out Mr. Mykolas Bir i ka and advised Osmo = owski to contact him. I asked that they not involve me in politics of any kind. “My task is to bring about peace among all the people and to lead them toward mutual love and unity, and this is what I shall do. It is up to you to make the political decisions and carry them out. I am opposed to the clergy interfering in politics.” During his visit Í witalski mentioned that Pi=sudski 1 will be arriving soon and asked how we plan to greet him. He said that it was desirable for me to participate. I answered that this was a matter for the citizens to be concerned with. We bishops greet our Catholic rulers in the Cathedral, and besides, Pi=sudski is not the ruler of Lithuania as yet. Í witalski called him “Head of State” ( Naczelnik Pa<stwa ), although Pi=sudski himself used the title “Commander of the Polish Armed Forces” ( Naczelny Wódz Wojsk Polskich ). On April 22nd Pi=sudski arrived early in the evening. The Dean said that they were waiting for him at the Gate of Dawn, but he did not stop there. Then, Father Oleszczuk sang the litany with the people and ended with the hymn “Under Your Protection.” A while ago I had heard the rumor that Pi=sudski is a socialist 2 and religion does not mean very much to him. He is estranged from his wife, and some Jewess has attached herself to him. I do not know how much truth there is in this, but such a rumor found its way here from Warsaw. On April 23rd I celebrated Mass at the Cathedral. Maciejewicz could not resist the temptation and preached a purely political 254 ˚ 1 Józef P i=s udski (1867-1935): as Commander in Chief of the Polish Army he had won independence for Poland in 1918 and by the end of that year was also head of its government. He had been born and raised in Vilnius and was attached to the city of his youth. 2 He was one of the organizers and leaders of the Polish Socialist Party and had edited its paper. When the Party split in 1908, he assumed leadership over its right wing, whose aim was to achieve the independence of Poland.