“The diocese of Vilkaviškis
suffered greatly during World War II. People suffered a terrible terror during the first Soviet occupation, and
the torture of priests in the Budavone forest near Vilkaviškis was particularly
brutal. The Nazi occupation returned few rights to the Catholic
Church. She was severely persecuted, but was not frightened. When. Mykolas Krupavičius signed a memorandum against Nazi colonial
policy and immediately in 1942. Nazis deported to Germany. Imprisoned, interned. Priests and lay believers rescued Jews, urging young people
not to join the Nazi army. At the end of the war, when the front stopped for a long time
near the German border, 32 churches were completely destroyed or demolished, 12
of which were successfully rebuilt shortly after the war. As the second Soviet occupation approached, about 100 priests moved to the
West, including Bishop Vincentas Padolskis, Bishop of Vilkaviškis. Of the remaining, about 70 were imprisoned and deported, and some were
killed. The Soviet government closed the Vilkaviškis seminary, 12
churches and abolished the respective parishes. The painful blow to the diocese was the closure of the monasteries that
were quite active in it, the registration of parishes by entrusting their
administration to so-called committees in order to control them as much as
possible, reducing the influence of the priests. The teaching of religion in schools was banned, the catechesis of children
was restricted, and atheism was forcibly crushed* - there was a struggle against
the faith and Christian values that had existed in people for centuries. The second Soviet occupation destroyed everything until 1940. established order: political pluralism, freedom of religion, private
property, etc. Hatred of the Catholic Church was particularly pronounced.”
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.