Translated by Sr. Ona Mikaila

Reflections

Lithuanian Seminaries

Sr. Ona Mikaila is a writer and editor of Bendradarbis, and belongs to the order of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Lithuanian order in Putnam, Connecticut. This interview was originally printed in a Catholic magazine in Lithuania, and translated by Sr. Mikaila.

Lithuania now has four seminaries to educate its future priests. These seminaries are the oldest and largest Kaunas Seminary, a new seminary has just been built in Vilnius, the Telšiai Seminary, and the newly-opened seminary for the Vilkaviškis diocese.

Monsignor Anthony Rubšys, who taught Scripture for many years at the Christian Brothers' Manhattan College in New York and has recently translated and edited the new Lithuanian Bible, has been invited to teach at three Lithuanian seminaries. This interview with him was conducted by Fr. Kazimieras Ambrasas, SJ, a Lithuanian Jesuit now working in a parish in Montreal, Canada.

Msgr. Rubšys:

The seminaries in Lithuania are a miracle. True, the interdiocesan seminary of Kaunas, although it survived the years of Soviet occupation, was very tightly controlled and restricted. It was forced to carry the heavy burden of history. The seminary in Telšiai, resurrected from ruin by Bishop Antanas Vaicius, has already graduated its third group of newly ordained priests for the diocese. The Vilnius seminary, with its new buildings created "from nothing" by Archbishop Audrys Backis, has all the required courses. Its existence is also a miracle.

It would be unwise to compare the Lithuanian seminaries with those in the USA or Canada, because the circumstances are so different. The Lithuanian seminaries lack essentials: adequate buildings, faculty, books and educational material, yet they are filled with students. In the USA and Canada the seminaries are furnished with everything but, unfortunately, they are practically empty, -- at the moment, anyway. We don't know what the future will bring.

Lithuanian seminarians begin their studies coming from very diverse backgrounds. They are somewhat affected by the attitudes of the now-defunct Soviet regime. Their religious education, if they had any, came from the family, mostly grandmothers, but not all were lucky to have a devout grandmother.

The seminaries are short of professors and often the bishops engage older men who have little idea what went on in the world beyond the Iron Curtain. It is difficult for them to satisfy the hunger for God that these young people have. They complain that they must study from old, yellowed notes when they yearn for wider horizons in their studies of philosophy and theology. They want to be educated for their full development as persons and not just as "cult ministers", to use a Soviet phrase.

Msgr. Rubšys:

Yes, there is a difference, but I would say that it lies not in the students themselves, but in their circumstances. Both here in Lithuania and in the States young people are eager to learn and to prepare themselves to meet the future. But young people respond to their surroundings. Perhaps American students, and Canadian as well, do not adequately make use of all that is available; while, Lithuanian students meet with many difficulties and feel frustrated and disappointed.

Msgr. Rubšys:

The root of these differences is, I would say, the historical and environmental circumstances that formed Lithuanian society. It is difficult to surmount fifty years of deprivation resulting in a "prison mentality". How long will it take? Social conditions in present-day Lithuania remind me of the Mohave Desert which is full of snakes and dangers. The "desert" in Lithuania makes itself felt when people try to grab whatever they can for themselves.

But not all the students that I met in the seminaries and universities are disappointed and depressed. I was fortunate to meet some very enthusiastic young people who are very concerned about the future of their country and who want to contribute by being priests or teachers or in some other profession. They are not concerned only with how much money they might make. At this point I would say that, on the whole, Lithuanian students are more idealistic.

Msgr. Rubšys:

The most important thing is to help a young person achieve full development as a human being -- only them should the young man be ordained a priest. Of course, he can be ordained at any time, but then he will be unhappy himself and will not be able to help others find meaning and happiness in their lives. In order to bring the Good News to others, he has to be "Good News" himself.

Msgr. Rubšys:

Screening of candidates is practiced in the USA, in Canada, and in Lithuania, but somewhat differently. In the USA the screening process is quite rigorous and is based on psychological evaluation. In Lithuania the process is achieved more simply; the seminarian's parish priest, doctor, and others are asked to write up his character profile. Eventually, Lithuanian seminaries will also make use of psychological evaluations.

Msgr. Rubšys:

I would want them to remember that God loves all that He has created. Where there are a lot of difficulties, He is near! Don't be discouraged, God loves those who have the courage to keep going.