Lithuanian government takes Vilniaus district to court over delayed renaming of streets named after disgraced cardinal

The Lithuanian government has filed a legal challenge against Vilniaus district municipality for failing to rename streets honouring Cardinal Henrykas Gulbinowicz, a Polish cleric sanctioned by the Vatican for child sexual abuse and covering up paedophilia cases, LRT reports.

The municipality was legally required to decide on renaming the streets—located in Nemenčinė town and Buivydžių eldership—by mid-April but postponed the vote, citing pending results from a public survey. A government representative confirmed to the Baltic News Service (BNS) that the case was referred to the Regional Administrative Court last week.

“We turned to the Regional Administrative Court at the end of last week,” said Gedmantė Eimontienė, the government’s representative for Vilniaus and Alytus counties. The district council is scheduled to revisit the issue this Friday. “If the municipality decides to rename the streets, we will withdraw our claims [for both streets],” she added.

The proposed new names are Gabrieliaus Jano Mincevičiaus Street for the Nemenčinė location and Buivydžių Street—reflecting local identity—for the route spanning seven villages in Buivydžių eldership. The public survey ran from March 19 to April 15.

Vilniaus district initially granted Gulbinowicz—born in the district’s Šukiškės village—the title of honorary citizen in 2015. The Vatican later imposed disciplinary sanctions on the late cleric (who died in 2020) for systematic sexual abuse of minors, concealing paedophilia among clergy, and a 16-year collaboration with Poland’s communist-era security services.

Last September, the district council rejected a proposal to strip Gulbinowicz of his honorary citizenship, with the ruling Polish Electoral Action–Christian Families Alliance faction opposing both that measure and the street renaming. Justice Minister Rita Tamašunienė, a member of the same party, previously stated she would not support renaming the streets or revoking the honorary title, framing it as a local decision.

The council first debated renaming the streets in mid-February amid public outrage over their current namesake’s record but voted against changes at the time.