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A few days ago a public invitation appeared on the official Vilnius Pride Facebook page. In response to the news in recent weeks, he intends to formally leave the institution of the Church. An explanation of how to do this is also provided in the entry below.
“Each and everyone who is frustrated with the institution of the Church and tired of interfering in people’s lives, and at the same time formally leaving the Church. Apply in writing (by letter or email) to your diocesan curia (where you were baptized) with a dated and signed application.
In November, Polish activists told us that in response to the priestly pedophilia scandals and the Church’s attempts to further restrict the rights of women and LGBT + people, people began to organize en masse and formally leave the institution of the Church. This week, Lukas Mykolaitis’s recording of a similar initiative of his, which we thank for his inspiration, also received attention in Lithuania.
During the current discussions on the Council of Europe Convention to Prevent and Combat Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (also known as the Istanbul Convention) and the legalization of associations and other human rights issues, representatives of the Church in Lithuania they continue to actively intervene in legislative processes. The advances that are being made in the field of human rights incite hatred in society and dictate how we all live.
Many of us have probably been baptized at an age where we have not yet been able to decide for ourselves if we want to be part of an institution that actively seeks to control our lives and restrict our rights. Recent events seem like a great opportunity to express our disapproval of the current policy of the Lithuanian Catholic Church and to formally leave this institution.
Therefore, we urge you to formally leave the church and thus express your disapproval of the current policy of the ecclesiastical institution, which promotes hatred and division of society, ”it is written on the Vilnius Pride Facebook page.
Following suit, journalist Fausta Marija Leščiauskaitė also stated on her Facebook account on Wednesday evening that she was separating from the Church.
“I decided. I don’t consider myself an atheist, but it’s easier for me to find God where people don’t divide.
I do not think it will hurt anyone, but it is my decision not to belong to someone with whom I do not want to identify myself, “the woman wrote.
In the letter in which he addresses Kelmė St. It is said that the Parish of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary received the sacraments of Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation in an immature age.
“I do not believe in the authority of the institution of the Church, I oppose its politics and propaganda on human rights and equality, and I do not oppose public opposition to those who propagate it. I am determined to ask to be officially removed from the Church community list, ”the request continues.
Maria also got in touch with Fausta 15 minutes. When asked why she decided to express such a position, the woman said that there were very few churches in her life. They came to her only out of respect, through funerals or weddings of loved ones if they were religious. He also visited churches regularly because of their architecture, he had great sympathy for some really inspiring priests.
“Oh God, he has always been in my life, I am not an atheist. But is he the same God that the Church tells me about? I don’t think so. So, I haven’t been part of the Church for a long time, or maybe I never was ”, considers the editor of Užkalnis magazine.
Photo from personal album / Apostasy of Fausta Marija Leščiauskaitė
According to María Fausta, recent public statements by priests and some believers about LGBT people were the last straw to make them think about the possibility of expressing their disapproval.
“It just came to our notice then. It’s important for me to say no, I don’t agree with calling my friends, friends, colleagues perverts and not allowing them to be a natural and normal part of society.
I always thought that faith is about releasing the ego, I thought that believers, especially priests, are better than me, more accept, have more goodness inside. And it turned out that anger in the church more than in other places. I don’t want to be part of this community ” 15 minutes the reporter said.
She, like many people, received the sacraments as a child, which, according to the interlocutor, was just a herd feeling. Fausta Mary remembers that no one listened, whether they wanted to receive the sacraments or not, but if she had expressed a hostile opinion, she now thinks that she could not have.
“But they all did, and so did I. Maybe someone as a child took Catholicism, the Scriptures, the history of Christianity seriously, maybe. Although I doubt it, I cannot speak for everyone. I really wasn’t and I remember that atmosphere very well when we all knew that after church, parents would take me to coffee and there would be a celebration. Is it possible to say that this attitude has radically changed? ”Says María Fausta.
He admits that he has never felt like an important, active, and conscious part of the Church community. “Especially like everyone else, I have constantly heard about pedophile scandals, covering them up, hiding priests with lovers and mistresses; this has formed an opinion over the years. Recent events have also contributed greatly.”
Photo from personal album / Fausta Marija Leščiauskaitė
By expressing her position and separating from the Church, Fausta Marija Leščiauskaitė says that she wants to show her own values and points of view, at odds with the Church’s ideas against the legalization of a gender-neutral association and against the Istanbul Convention. Therefore, in such a statement, he said that he has no intention of doing the same for his followers, which they do not.
“It just came to our attention then. If someone who did not feel part of the Church anyway, like me, who was hurt by the statements of the clergy, would do so because he saw that it was possible, then all is well. However, I do not intend to humiliate believers, undermine their faith, undermine the meaning they see.
Rather, I respect your faith and your choices. I only speak of myself in this statement. That’s probably why I didn’t write anywhere: “Connect, let’s do it together” – 15 minutes Said Fausta Mary.
After its recording, the woman received not only support but also criticism. This, according to the interlocutor, is natural. On the other hand, she is surprised that someone does not agree with her personal decision, which only belongs to her.
“Theoretically, in practice, what does that mean? That is why it is very important for me to express that I respect the choice of believers. I did not make fun of their faith, their need to go to church. How can I disrespect them “Well, will the faithful manage to respect my decision? Let’s see. But I listen to what I hear,” smiles the journalist.
However, when asked what the Church should be, of which she would like to be a part, Fausto Maria openly says that she does not need the Church or organized religion at all.
“I can find God in Belarus, although it seems small there these days. But I can tell you what our church needed to do so that I would not have made such a decision and continue to be such a dysfunctional and semi-lifeless part of the Church with the hope to sometimes admire his actions: we had to accept man, as they say, God’s creation.
Today, the Church is able to accept pedophiles, to live behind closed doors, to tell the murderer that you are here to confess your sins and discover goodness, but not to accept two men or women who love each other without even considering the statements of the Dad. , “the woman does not hide.
And although he adds that there are tolerant people in the Church community, he says that it would be wrong to endure other evils just for them.
“I really regret a little that when I say ‘Church’ it is like pushing everyone into a cauldron. I know there are great clergy, great believers, really good people who are nothing like the dark people I tell you about.” But today I believe that silence is approval. And if you don’t agree, you need to say it out loud, ”said the woman.
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