George Matulaitis Journal

their political machinations. But, thank God, I have resisted them and now I shall be careful not to get caught again. When I was in Warsaw during the uprising of 1904, I saw the activities of the “endek” priests. How much heartache they created for the diocesan authorities. I can see that the same thing will be my lot here. God grant me truly Catholic priests. I asked a few wise priests and other people whether it was worthwhile to publish a letter. They answered that it was not. Only the hotheads, mostly the “endeks,” were of the opinion that it was worth it to address the people by letter. They wanted to continue to incite the people by making use of my words. For myself, I saw no need to issue a pastoral letter. At present, conditions are entirely unsuitable for such a message. The young, newly ordained priest Butrimowicz, a nationally conscious Belorussian, came by for a visit. This is what he told me. The newly ordained seminarians had gone to Father Chomski to thank him for providing them with food. Father Chomski spoke to them, claiming that there were no Belorussians here in the diocese of Vilnius. Of course, this was painful for the Belorussians. It is a fact that these Polish nationalist priests just cannot resist bringing politics into everything. On the 26th of April I once again called in the Dean and the assistant Dean and asked them to keep me informed about everything that is going on in the parishes of the city, naturally, in the sphere of Church life. When he was here, P i=sud ski had asked me that the soldiers be permitted to attend Mass every Sunday at 9 a.m. at the Gate of Dawn shrine. I asked the Dean to make sure Mass was celebrated there at the appropriate time. Mr. Umiastowski 1 invited me to participate in the farewell ceremony for P i=sud ski. I consented. At four in the afternoon I went to the affair with Monsignor Michalkiewicz. It turned out that I had not been told the whole truth. This was a ceremony presenting P i=sud ski with the keys of the city. The hall was beautifully decorated. Father Lubianiec’s organizations were there and had taken care of the decorations. Many people participated. At 5:30, P i=sud ski arrived 259 1 Bron is=a w Umiastowski, a Polish political activist, one of those who had signed the memorandum to the German authorities in 1917 requesting that Lithuania and Poland be united.