Vilnius Archdiocese priests face sexual abuse allegations

Lithuania is facing a major pedophilia scandal involving priests from the Vilnius Archdiocese. Two criminal cases have been handed over to prosecutors regarding sexual crimes against minors.

In one case, 56-year-old Tadas Švedavičius is accused of 34 criminal episodes involving sexual assault, possession of pornographic materials, and involvement of minors in drinking between 2002 and 2025. The case involves 11 victims aged between 12 and 18. A second case involves priest Ryšardas Peciunas.

The Vatican has responded to the developments, with the Apostolic Nunciature expressing condolences to the victims and their families. The Holy See stated it is monitoring the situation with concern and maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward abuse, while trusting the work of state authorities and the Vilnius Archdiocese.

Birutė Sabatauskaitė, the Equality Controller, has called for a fundamental review of sexual violence prevention, victim support systems, and legal regulations. She criticized closed hierarchical structures for potentially allowing abuse to be concealed and noted that such organizations often fail to report suspicions to law enforcement or invest sufficiently in prevention.