Lithuania’s Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius and parliamentary speaker Juozas Olekas resisted calls for an independent inquiry into child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, BNS reported. Earlier, two local priests were charged with sexual offences against children. Sinkevicius insisted that any investigation was up to Church authorities. Olekas asserted that courts should do their work first. At the same time, he urged the Church to enlist independent experts in any internal investigations. Meanwhile, Vilnius Archbishop Gintaras Grusas argued that the time was not yet right for a large-scale independent inquiry into sexual abuse within the Church, BNS reported. He said that the priority should be to create a system to help victims and stop crimes. Justice Minister Rita Tamasuniene called for expanding legal regulation by registering both convicted and suspected abusers, ELTA reported. Under current legislation, individuals working with minors must have an electronic document that allows employers and parents to check whether the person has a history of sexual or other serious offences.
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