On 16 February the archbishop of Vilnius, Cardinal Audrys J. Backis, celebrated a Mass in the cathedral for National Independence Day in the presence of the head of state, Rolandas Paksas, and numerous political leaders. Commenting on Paul’s teaching on Christian unity, the archbishop reminded “everyone of their duty to preserve unity and truth” and expressed the hope for “a unity without winners or losers”. Pointing out the “effects of Soviet atheism which destroyed the sense of authority which must unite, not divide”, Cardinal Backis insisted on “the need to transcend our own personal interests and commit ourselves to the common good of society” and the defence of Lithuania’s “fragile national liberty”. This year the celebrations of Independence Day, founded on 16 February 1918, the date of the proclamation of the Act of restoration of the independent Lithuanian Republic, which was followed by Soviet occupation, took place in an atmosphere of mounting tension. The Baltic Republic, which won its independence from the USSR in 1990 and is now preparing to enter the European Union (1st May), is in fact being rocked by a scandal that broke out in October last year and threatens to exacerbate internal political conflicts, undermine the country’s unity and isolate the country at the international level. At the centre of the scandal are the accusations being made against the President, suspected of having links with the Russian mafia. In December Cardinal Backis, who is also president of the Lithuanian Episcopal Conference, together with the bishops’ vice-president, Msgr. Sigitas Tamkevicius, sent a confidential letter to Paksas inviting him to “listen to the voice of conscience and act for the common good rather than for personal and partisan interests”, and indirectly asking him to resign. The Lithuanian bishops have also addressed a message to the population, criticizing the “defensive political campaign” organized by Paksas in various regions “that is fomenting social tensions”. The bishops hope that “the political crisis of the country’s leader will not be translated into a moral crisis of society as a whole”.
