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“Let’s think about our values, our faith, which forces us to take certain steps. You know, like me when all that particular movement started unexpectedly. It would seem that out of nowhere completely – a lightning bolt from the clear sky. You know, what was my first thought? I thought that only the Comforter (author of The Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary the Comforter) would not take it from me.
He is so dear to me, he is my baby, my son. I thought maybe it would be better to keep quiet. Because it can take me far. Yes, there is a state building here, the forces are powerful. I’m not talking about being a police chaplain anymore. I can lose everything, ”said the priest about the fight for the ratification of the Istanbul Convention on social networks.
At the beginning of the week A.Toliatas on the social network Facebook shared the call to sign a petition against the ratification of the Istanbul Convention. This caused a great wave of reactions in society. The cleric, accused of politicking, denied doing so and said that he simply invited users of social networks to “deepen the discussions.”
A little later, A. Toliat had a conflict with MEP Aušra Maldeikienė. He made public the messages that politicians sent him.
During Sunday’s sermon, Tolyat said that he did not want to offend anyone.
“It just came to our attention then. I am always in favor of a culture of respect and communication,” said the clergyman.
“Letter from Alma” nuotr./Algirdas Toliatas
Addressing the faithful, Tolyat began to speak of the persecution of priests in various countries, equating the quote from the Bible with the language of hatred. Hate speech) and all this “is due to the fight against violence.
“Until I was introduced like this, I didn’t know much about the real events. You know that in Ireland, Switzerland, Spain, real things are happening: the clergy, the bishops, are prosecuted and done. Somewhere all those courts end and all investigations are void. Excuse a person who has two or some tension after a year, desecrated, trampled to flour. In the name of the fight against violence. In other places, there are cases in which both accused and punished. And why was he punished? By the Bible. Because of the fact that they said what is written in the Bible, “the priest spoke to the faithful during the sermon.
I had to explain about the languages
In fact, in the countries mentioned by A. Tololia, there are even some cases in which the clergy of various denominations had to interpret the words spoken.
Evangelical Protestant pastor James McConnell was indicted in Ireland in 2016, saying that Islam was “satanic” and “spawn of hell.” He was cleared of “very offensive” comments about the Muslim religion.
In 2019, Baptist pastor Steven Anderson was not allowed to enter Ireland due to hate speech. This possibility is provided for by national legislation. As reported by The New York Times, this pastor has been famous for some time in languages that are not at all reminiscent of biblical quotes. In 2009, he declared his hatred for then-US President Barrack Obama and prayed for him to die. He called for the “extermination of all gays” and welcomed the news of the massacre at the Orlando Gay Club, which killed 49 people.
123RF.com nuotr./Malda
There was no penalty for quoting the Bible
The punishment mentioned by Tololia for citing the Bible took place in 2015 in Switzerland.
Published by swissinfo.chIn 2015, Catholic Bishop Vitus Huonder cited a rather controversial place in the Bible during a Mass sermon during Mass.
The 73-year-old bishop cited two lines: “If a man were to sleep with a man as if he were a woman, both would have committed a heinous perversion: both must be killed by bloodshed.”
In response to the applause, the bishop continued: “These two lines alone are enough to unequivocally explain the church’s position on homosexuality.”
It is true that a few days later, the bishop issued a public apology declaring that he was “misunderstood.”
He was not prosecuted for the incident.
The case in Lithuania
Priests have to explain their words not only abroad, but also in Lithuania. Kaunas district Rokų St. Virginijus Gražulevičius, priest of Antanas Paduvietis parish, was upset to write a comment online.
“Give such skin” striped roosters “- wrote the priest on the Internet, thus responding to the news that the picketers gathered at the Russian embassy were protesting against the violations of gay rights in Russia.
The Kaunas District Court had found the priest guilty: a fine of MGL 18 (€ 677) was imposed on V. Gražulevičius for the crimes committed. Finally, the priest was acquitted by the Lithuanian Supreme Court and lost the fine.
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