Vilnius Archbishop Gintaras Grušas has apologised for failing to respond to sexual abuse suspicions against the chancellor of his Archdiocese.
The police carried out searches in the Curia as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged sexual offences by Father Kęstutis Palikša.
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“When I found out about the search, I failed to look into the real reasons behind the search and the serious accusations against the priest,” he told reporters on Friday, adding that the search lasted 13 minutes.
His comment came after prosecutors reopened an investigation into allegations that Palikša had forced a minor into sexual relations.
The archbishop said he was informed about the search on the same day. He said there were no bishops present during the search, although law enforcement officers wanted a Curia representative to be present. Finally, a lawyer assisting the clergy was present during the search.
“After the search, bishops were informed that it had to do with a personal financial case and some kind of defamation,” Grušas said.
He insists that the Vilnius Archdiocese received no information about the verdicts in the cases “neither from Father Kęstutis, nor from law enforcement”.
Grušas says he learned about the real search reasons after receiving the court order.
“It said they were looking for pornographic images of minors, and they did not find it on the Curia’s computer,” he said.
The prosecution service, however, told BNS last week that the search order also specified the case and what the investigation was about.
Grušas also admitted his guilt and expressed his regret over this failure to look deeper into the matter and ask Palikša “important questions” about his alleged criminal offense.
“I apologise to the young man who suffered from the priest what he should not have suffered. I apologise to our religious community, to fellow priests who follow the path of holiness, and to everyone who feel betrayed and let down by the Church,” the archbishop said.
The archbishop added he was planning to set up a team that would develop a system to report priests’ misbehaviour.
The investigation into Palikša’s alleged sexual offences was reopened after Delfi.lt published a testimony from a 19-year-old man claiming he had a sexual relationship with Palikša when he was 15. The young man claimed to have received large sums of money in exchange.
Law enforcement authorities then launched an investigation into Palikša’s actions and carried out searches. Eventually, the priest was fined for the possession of pornographic content, while other charges were dropped because prosecutors did not have evidence that the young man had been coerced into having sex against.
At the same time, Palikša accused the young man of stealing money from his bank account. The court found him guilty.
If the allegations against Palikša were confirmed, he would be defrocked, Grušas said. And the priest could be suspended for two to five years over photographs with a minor, something for which he has already been convicted.
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