(LITHUANIA)
LRT [Vilnius, Lithuania]
August 13, 2026
By BNS
Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius on Thursday called for cooperation from the Catholic Church and answers on whether it took sufficient steps to detect and prevent child sexual abuse after two priests were charged with sexual offenses involving children.
“I expect open and constructive cooperation between the Church and law enforcement, transparency and a readiness to answer not only who may have committed the crimes, but also the vital question of whether sufficient measures were taken in all cases to ensure that potential abuse was detected early, prevented and reported to the responsible authorities,” Sinkevičius said in a Facebook post.
He said the government must also assess whether legal and institutional mechanisms adequately protect children in schools, families, sports organizations, religious institutions and other settings.
“There can be no tolerance for sexual violence against children,” Sinkevičius said, adding that an institution’s reputation cannot be placed above the safety of a person or a child.
He stressed that the cases were not about faith or an attack on the Catholic Church and its followers.
“Respect for the Church cannot mean silence. On the contrary, moral authority mandates the highest standards of responsibility,” he said.
The cases involving the two priests have been referred to court.
One priest is accused of sexual offenses against 11 minors. Law enforcement data show 34 alleged criminal episodes spanning a 23-year period from 2002 to 2025. The case has been transferred to the Vilnius Regional Court.
The second priest is charged with possession of child pornography. Authorities say there are no victims in that case, which has been transferred to the Vilnius City District Court. According to Lithuanian news outlets Delfi and Liteko, the accused are Tadas Svedavičius and Ryšardas Peciunas.
The Archdiocese of Vilnius said it learned of the allegations from prosecutors after the pretrial investigations began. The priests have been suspended, and canonical investigations have been opened, the archdiocese said.
Further reading
2026.08.12 10:11
Lithuanian Church withholds priest’s name as he faces charges involving 11 minors