George Matulaitis Journal

Mr. Meysztowicz 1 came to call on me, followed by Mr. Mineika. Both of these men regard Lithuania from a different point of view. They simply want Lithuania to unite with Poland. While listening to the opinions of the one and the other, I took care not to get involved in politics myself. May 3 I celebrated Mass in the Cathedral at 10 o’clock. His Excellency Archbishop Teodorowicz delivered the sermon. He speaks well and is a real orator. The sermon was political in content and only at the end did he mention the Blessed Virgin. The people could not understand this sermon. Only a handful of the intelligentsia could have grasped what he was saying. His Excellency Archbishop Teodorowicz and Father Lutos = awski accepted the invitation to have lunch with me. They are both of the opinion that Vilnius, the polonized areas of Lithuania, and Belorussia should be annexed to Poland. Father Lutos = awski left first, and His Excellency, the Archbishop, remained alone with me. I questioned him about the situation of the Church in Poland and the position taken by Parliament. They are determined to take over Church property. His Excellency the Apostolic Visitator Ratti, wanted the Polish government to deal directly with the Holy See in this matter. But the committee that was looking into the question refused to do so, saying that this was within the jurisdiction of the bishops. The bishops asked Ratti to request the Holy Father to permit them to negotiate with Parliament on this question and to save whatever they can. The right wing is dominant in Parliament. There are twenty priests and a large number of peasants who will follow the clergy. The Parliament has not yet adopted a constitution. In about two weeks the Catholics will present the question of the relation between Church and state for discussion in Parliament and hope that it will agree to declare Catholicism the accepted religion in Polish lands. 271 1 Aleksander Meysztowicz (1864-1943): born and bred in Lithuania, inherited a large estate in northern Lithuania; had studied in Vilnius with Pi = sudski; from 1909 to 1917 had been a member of the Duma and lived in St. Petersburg; back in Lithuania in 1918, took an active and leading part in Polish politics promoting annexation of Lithuania to Poland. Nov. 21, 1921, appointed by Gen. ÷ eligowski as head of the governing committee for Central Lithuania, succeeded Gen. Mokrzecki.