Vilnius district council rejects proposal to review Gulbinowicz memorials

Vilnius District Municipality Council on Friday rejected a proposal to establish a temporary commission to review historical remembrance issues in the district, LRT reported. Twelve council members voted to advance the proposal, while seven opposed it and 11 abstained.

The vote followed a protest outside the municipality building under the slogan “Vilnius district without glorifying paedophiles.” Protesters called for streets named after Cardinal Henryk Gulbinowicz to be renamed and for his honorary citizen title to be revoked.

The Vatican sanctioned Gulbinowicz over the sexual abuse of minors and the concealment of paedophilia allegations.

Daniel Ilkevičius, a representative of the Freedom Party, said the district lacked a consistent and transparent mechanism for reviewing existing monuments, memorial plaques, street and public space names, and honorary citizen titles.

“We have a mechanism for assigning names, but we do not have a clear mechanism for reviewing them when a problematic situation arises,” Ilkevičius said.

He described Gulbinowicz’s commemoration in the district as the clearest example. Streets in the district still bear his name, and he retains his honorary citizen title despite the Holy See’s investigation and disciplinary measures related to allegations of sexual abuse of minors and other serious violations, Ilkevičius said.

Ilkevičius stressed that the proposed commission would have examined more than the Gulbinowicz case. It would also have considered questions surrounding other historical remembrance sites, including Soviet monuments and the name of Yuri Gagarin Street.

He said the commission would have assessed the current situation and established criteria based on democratic values, historical justice, the public interest, and basic ethical and moral principles.

Tadeusz Andrzejewski, a council member from the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania Christian Families Alliance, questioned whether a new commission was necessary. He said an existing municipal commission could have overlapping functions.

Ilkevičius replied that the existing commission was primarily responsible for assigning names and honorary titles, while the proposed body would have reviewed decisions that had already been made. He said he was open to discussing whether the functions could be combined.

Another representative of the alliance, Waldemaras Urbanas, said the proposal needed further preparation. He noted that it did not include rules governing the commission’s work and raised questions about its composition and members’ qualifications.

Ilkevičius said the proposed commission would have been temporary and could have resolved the outstanding issues by the end of the year, drawing on conclusions from experts in relevant fields.

After the vote, Social Democratic council member Martynas Motuzas criticised colleagues who had not supported the proposal. Ilkevičius expressed regret over the result.