The World - News from Sept. 30, 1988

The leader of Lithuania’s Roman Catholic Church, Bishop Julijonas Steponavicius, has arrived unexpectedly in Rome after 27 years of internal exile in the Soviet Union, a Vatican Radio official said. Casimir Lozoraitis, head of Vatican Radio’s Lithuanian section, told reporters that Bishop Steponavicius arrived with another Lithuanian prelate. Steponavicius, 77, is widely believed to be the “secret” cardinal named in 1979 by Pope John Paul. Steponavicius is expected to meet the Pope soon, Lozoraitis said. Steponavicius was sent into internal exile in 1961, Lozoraitis said, and the Vatican has considered the bishopric of the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius to be vacant since.