• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Elizabeth Scalia
          • Michael R. Heinlein
          • Effie Caldarola
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Mark Viviano
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
        • CR Radio
        • Protagonistas de Fe
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
Russian armored vehicles are seen during drills in Rostov, Russia, Jan. 27, 2022. Lithuanian Archbishop Gintaras Grušas said neighboring nations best understand the current threat from Russia and urged the West to maintain "firm deterrence" against current aggression. (CNS photo/Sergey Pivovarov, Reuters)

Lithuanian archbishop backs ‘hard line of deterrence’ against Russia

February 3, 2022
By Jonathan Luxmoore
Catholic News Service
Filed Under: Feature, News, World News

WARSAW, Poland (CNS) — The president of the Lithuanian bishops’ conference warned that his country and its neighbors could be targeted if Russian President Vladimir Putin imposes his will on Ukraine.

Archbishop Gintaras Grušas of Vilnius, who is also president of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences, urged Western countries to maintain a “hard line of deterrence.”

“We’re in a precarious geographical and historical position — Mr. Putin has reiterated his view that Russia’s empire should not have collapsed and seems to have a claim on our three Baltic states,” the U.S.-born archbishop told Catholic News Service Feb. 3. “But we have the guarantee of deterrence, with NATO forces here on the ground, and we are part of the European Union. So long as European countries stay united, I think the deterrence will work.

“Russia is tempting the West in various ways to see if its unity is intact,” said the archbishop. “People who’ve been occupied and were part of the Soviet Union are keenly aware of the Russian mentality, and of Russia’s desire to test the limits. That’s where a hard line of deterrence comes in.”

He spoke the same day Russia criticized a U.S. decision to deploy extra troops in Eastern Europe to boost defenses after the massing of 100,000 Russian troops on the borders of Ukraine.

Archbishop Grušas said the additional deployment of Russian forces in neighboring Belarus had increased tension across the region. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said around 30,000 Russian troops were now in Belarus, the largest deployment since the Cold War.

The archbishop said Lithuanian bishops had asked Catholics to recite the rosary for peace each day in February.

Latvian Archbishop Zbignev Stankevics of Riga warned his country could also be threatened and destabilized by Russian actions, including forms of “hybrid warfare” and cyber-attacks.

“If Europe and the European Union preserve their internal unity, then they’ll also be able to preserve peace at Europe’s borders,” he told a Jan. 29 meeting in Frankfurt’s Catholic cathedral. “But if Putin attacks Ukraine, then we, the Baltic countries, will be next, followed by Poland. If there is no dialogue, it will become very dangerous. Putin could take one step, then another.”

Russia began massing forces in late October, prompting fears of an offensive against Ukraine, where pro-Kremlin separatists declared independent republics in Luhansk and Donetsk in 2014, triggering a war that has left more than 14,000 dead.

Archbishop Grušas said the late-2021 massing on migrants on Belarus’ borders with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia “as human shields to destabilize the situation” exemplified the new “hybrid warfare,” at a time when Western societies were being “attacked over their unity.”

“There are always temptations of greed and power, against which the real revolution takes place in the human heart,” said the Lithuanian archbishop.

“While any new escalation in tensions should be met with diplomacy and an ability to talk, the more our churches also pray for peace the better.”

Archbishop Grušas said Western governments should listen to Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Poles and others with “closest contacts” with Russia, to “better understand the mentality they are up against.”

“Standing one’s ground in any dialogue is a necessity — those who stood up firmly 30 years ago were the ones who achieved independence,” said the archbishop, referring to the breakup of the Soviet Union.

“At this point, we really need prayer and diplomacy to achieve a dialogue for peace. But dialogue has to combine with a thorough understanding of deterrence in maintaining peace. There has to be a very determined stance that we will not back down — that countries must be allowed self-determination regarding their own future.”

Read More World News

British Parliament ‘effectively decriminalizes’ abortion up to birth

Expert: Religious show courage helping others, fear standing up for self

Pope: Resist the ‘temptation’ of embracing weapons

Jesus invites Christians to overcome despair, pope says

A month after his election, most U.S. Catholics view Pope Leo XIV favorably

Supreme Court takes up appeal from N.J. faith-based pregnancy centers

Copyright © 2022 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Print Print

Primary Sidebar

Jonathan Luxmoore

Click here to view all posts from this author

For the latest news delivered twice a week via email or text message, sign up to receive our free enewsletter.

| MOST POPULAR |

  • Pope Leo to return to practice of ‘imposing’ pallium on new archbishops

  • Prodigal son to priest

  • Archbishop Lori announces appointments, including pastor and associate pastor assignments

  • Pope’s brother says even as a baby, future pontiff had a spiritual ‘air’ about him

  • Diversity is cause for strength, not division, pope tells Rome clergy

| Latest Local News |

Knights of Columbus announces June 19 novena for intention of Pope Leo

For Deacon Shiadrik Mokum, the priesthood is all about community

Prodigal son to priest

Radio Interview: Books and Authors: Inspiring Trailblazers

Future priest from Congo has a heart of service

| Latest World News |

British Parliament ‘effectively decriminalizes’ abortion up to birth

Expert: Religious show courage helping others, fear standing up for self

Pope: Resist the ‘temptation’ of embracing weapons

Jesus invites Christians to overcome despair, pope says

A month after his election, most U.S. Catholics view Pope Leo XIV favorably

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • British Parliament ‘effectively decriminalizes’ abortion up to birth
  • Expert: Religious show courage helping others, fear standing up for self
  • Knights of Columbus announces June 19 novena for intention of Pope Leo
  • Pope: Resist the ‘temptation’ of embracing weapons
  • Jesus invites Christians to overcome despair, pope says
  • Detroit Archdiocese to provide regional sites for celebration of Latin Mass starting July 1
  • A month after his election, most U.S. Catholics view Pope Leo XIV favorably
  • The truth about transitions
  • Supreme Court takes up appeal from N.J. faith-based pregnancy centers

Search

Membership

Catholic Media Assocation

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2025 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED