Prime minister demands zero tolerance for child sexual abuse

LRT reports that Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius expects the Catholic Church to cooperate openly with law enforcement after two priests were charged with sexual crimes against children.

He said the Church should be transparent and ready to answer not only who may have committed crimes, but also whether sufficient measures were taken to detect possible abuse, prevent it and inform the responsible authorities.

“There is no tolerance, and there can be no tolerance, for sexual abuse of children,” Sinkevičius said in a Facebook post on Thursday. He added that no position, authority, institution or status should shield anyone from responsibility.

The prime minister said the government must assess whether existing legal and institutional mechanisms adequately protect children in schools, families, sports organisations, religious institutions and other settings.

“If there are gaps, we must close them,” he said, urging people who have experienced sexual abuse not to be afraid to speak out.

Sinkevičius said the priority should be the victims, including children whose trust may have been abused and people who may carry the consequences of such experiences throughout their lives.

He stressed that the case was not about faith or an attack on the Church and its members. However, he said, respect for the Church could not mean silence and that moral authority required the highest standards of accountability.

Culture Minister Lukas Alsys also called for openness from the Church after a case against priest Tadas Švedavičius was sent to court.

“The news is shocking. As a minister and a father of three, what I would want most is openness from the Church: clear statements about what it did, how it responded and whether it had any indications that something might be happening within the Church,” Alsys told Žinių radijas on Thursday.

Alsys said he wanted to see an open dialogue between the Church, its congregation and wider society. He said such cases were unacceptable and inconsistent with contemporary moral standards, adding that he hoped they would not happen again.

“I feel most sorry for the people who experienced this and were kept under such a veil for many years. I would not want to learn that someone had covered it up,” the minister said.

Two criminal cases involving priests charged with sexual crimes against minors have been sent to court.

A clergyman who worked in the Archdiocese of Vilnius faces charges over 34 alleged criminal episodes involving sexual abuse of children, possession of pornographic material and involving children in drinking. The case has 11 victims, who were aged between 12 and 18 when the alleged offences took place.

Investigators believe the alleged crimes were committed between 2002 and 2025. Švedavičius, who is 56, will stand trial in the case.