Grušas vows to seek warning signs after priest abuse cases

Vilnius Archbishop Metropolitan Gintaras Grušas has said he accepts responsibility as a Church leader but will not resign after two cases involving alleged sexual crimes by priests were referred to court, LRT reported.

One priest is suspected of committing crimes for more than 20 years in six parishes. Authorities have identified 11 possible victims and 34 alleged offences, ranging from forcing children to consume alcohol to sexual assault. In a separate case, another priest has been charged with possessing child pornography.

Speaking to LRT’s Dienos tema programme, Grušas said the Church first learned about both cases from law enforcement. One notification came about two years ago, while the other arrived roughly a year later.

Both priests were immediately removed from their duties and will not hold any Church positions while the court proceedings continue, he said. Grušas thanked prosecutors and law enforcement for identifying and investigating the cases, and apologised to the victims, their relatives, the Church community and wider society.

Asked why the alleged offences had remained unknown to the Church for so long, Grušas said the rotation of priests between parishes was normal and unrelated to crimes of which the Church had been unaware. He said such offences were often concealed by both perpetrators and victims because of shame and fear.

Grušas said this was not only a Church problem but also a wider social issue. He cited statistics showing that 80 percent of such crimes take place in a person’s close environment, adding that victims in small towns may fear how others will view them.

He said the Church had spent the past three years encouraging people to report suspected crimes to law enforcement and the Church. Earlier reporting, he said, could have protected other victims.

Grušas said he would ask people to look more diligently for warning signs, while acknowledging that it was impossible to place a police officer in every parish priest’s residence. He also said he would not step down, adding that only the pope could remove him from office.