Minister says Vilnius district should decide on Gulbinowicz street names

Justice Minister Rita Tamašunienė says the Vilnius District Council should decide whether to rename streets named after Cardinal Henryk Roman Gulbinowicz, who was sanctioned by the Vatican over the sexual abuse of minors and the concealment of clergy sexual abuse crimes, LRT reported.

“In my view, the council should make decisions,” Tamašunienė said when asked whether the street names should be changed in the current context.

In April, however, the Vilnius District Council rejected a proposal to remove Gulbinowicz’s name from streets in the city of Nemenčinė and the Buivydžiai eldership. The decision followed surveys of local residents.

Gedmantė Eimontienė, the government representative for Vilnius and Alytus counties, has demanded that the Vilnius District Municipality revoke the street names. After the municipality failed to do so, she appealed to a court.

Attempts to bring the issue before the Vilnius District Council have been made several times, but failed because the council majority decided not to consider it. The proposals called for the streets in Nemenčinė and the Buivydžiai eldership to be renamed Buivydžiai Street and Gabriel Jan Mincevičius Street.

According to LRT, the Vatican sanctioned Gulbinowicz in 2020 for the sexual abuse of minors and concealing sexual abuse crimes committed by clergy. He had already died when Poland stripped him of honorary titles and revoked his honorary citizenship.

Despite those decisions, Gulbinowicz remains an honorary citizen of the Vilnius district, where three streets bear his name. He was originally from the region.

Tamašunienė took a different position in September 2025, saying she could not interfere with the municipality’s decisions on renaming the streets. She also said the Vatican’s verdict on Gulbinowicz was viewed differently by different parties.