Olekas says archbishop has not answered scandal meeting request

Parliament Speaker Juozas Olekas invited Vilnius Archbishop Gintaras Grušas to meet after a sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church but has not received a response, LRT reports.

Olekas told reporters on Wednesday, after meeting Prosecutor General Nida Grunskienė, that he had sent requests to meet both Grunskienė and Grušas the previous week.

“Yes, I requested a meeting with both the prosecutor general and the archbishop. I am waiting for a response,” Olekas said.

He said he had been asked to wait until the archbishop was available to meet. “Let’s not start blaming anyone. I hope we will receive [a response],” he said.

Olekas also said the governing parties were considering initiatives such as a public register of sex offenders, while seeking to protect children who had been harmed.

Grušas, who leads the Vilnius Archdiocese, has not publicly commented on one of the biggest scandals in the history of Lithuania’s Catholic Church. Two priests under his authority have been accused of sexual offences, including offences against children.

In August, prosecutors transferred two cases to the Vilnius Regional Court. One priest is accused of sexual offences against 11 minors. Law enforcement knows of 34 criminal episodes, ranging from forcing children to consume alcohol to sexually assaulting them. The alleged offences took place from 2002 to 2025.

In the other case, another priest is accused of possessing child pornography. There are no victims in that case.