Lithuanian Church withholds details of two child abuse investigations

The Lithuanian Catholic Church began two internal investigations into possible sexual abuse of minors in 2025, but has declined to say whether the cases were reported to law enforcement, LRT reports.

The Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference, the country’s highest collegial Catholic institution, announced in July that the investigations had been opened. It has not disclosed details about the alleged offences, their locations or whether the activities of clergy are being investigated by police.

The conference also declined to say how the investigations ended or whether they had been handed over to law enforcement. It said such information should be provided by law enforcement agencies.

However, prosecutors say they lack enough information to identify the clergy involved among the reports of sexual abuse received last year. They said at least the location where the alleged abuse took place would need to be disclosed.

LRT contacted all of Lithuania’s dioceses. Most said they could not disclose whether their members had reported the abuse of minors in 2025, saying that the Bishops’ Conference provides information on the matter. The Panevėžys Diocese had not responded by the time of publication, while the Kaunas Archdiocese said it was not communicating on the issue while its bishop was on holiday.

The Bishops’ Conference said it was limiting the information released to protect possible victims and avoid jeopardising ongoing investigations.

“We chose to publish aggregated data without identifying specific dioceses. This decision helps protect the privacy of possible victims and avoids risks to ongoing investigations, while providing the public with information about the overall situation in Lithuania’s dioceses,” the conference said.

Expert calls for greater transparency

Kristina Mišinienė, head of the Centre Against Human Trafficking and Exploitation, criticised the Church’s communication, saying it suggested that the institution was addressing the problem while withholding important details.

“I will say it directly: I see such a statement as a game of cat and mouse. It is as if we want to fool people a little while also saying that everything is fine,” she told LRT.

Mišinienė said that although the Church had recently shown that it was responding to allegations of inappropriate conduct by clergy and conducting internal investigations, possible sexual abuse was a crime that should be investigated by law enforcement.

She added that the Church’s vague position and reluctance to disclose information could also mean that it was trying to protect clergy, while victims and their reports were being left aside. She said victims should be provided with legal representation and psychological assistance.