Sinkevičius says politicians should not interfere in Church abuse inquiry

Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said Church leaders should decide whether to investigate possible sexual crimes against children within the Church, and that politicians should not interfere in its internal decisions, LRT reported.

“The Church leaders can decide whether such an investigation is necessary. The governance of the state is separate from the governance of the Church; these are entirely separate areas,” Sinkevičius told journalists on Friday.

“We live in a state governed by the rule of law and have legal processes. It is doubtful that state politicians should interfere in the decisions of Church hierarchs. These are their decisions, and they should respond to society’s expectations,” he added.

Vilnius Archbishop Metropolitan Gintaras Grušas, meanwhile, said the time was not yet right for an independent, wide-ranging investigation to establish the scale of sexual abuse in Lithuania’s Catholic Church over recent decades.

Grušas did not rule out such a historical investigation in the future, but said the current priority should be protecting possible victims and preventing crimes.

As reported by BNS, the cases of two priests accused of sexual crimes against children were referred to the courts this summer. Priest Tadas Švedavičius is accused of sexual crimes against 11 minors. Law enforcement authorities recorded 34 criminal episodes, ranging from forcing children to consume alcohol to sexually assaulting them. The alleged crimes took place over 23 years, from 2002 to 2025. The case was referred to the Vilnius Regional Court.

In a separate case referred to the Vilnius City District Court, priest Ryšardas Peciunas is accused of possessing child pornography. There are no victims in that case.

The allegations have renewed calls for Lithuania to establish a public register of sex offenders.