Signed by Vilnius Archbishop Cardinal Audrys Juozas Bačkis, the letter condemns advertisement of leisurewear with elements of religious paintings and the use of a Renaissance painting Salvator Mundi in presentation of an international theater festival.
Bačkis said the poster highlighted the play which both the director and organizers presented as “a play and a sacrilege."
"The marginal attempts to draw attention at any cost sacrifices human decency and insults many people; they are not stopped by the ongoing global discussions about the tragic consequences of the provocations that infringed upon the feelings of believers," the archbishop said.
In his address, Bačkis noted that conscious Catholics had a "duty to object conscious desecration of the precious face of His Holiness and other religious signs."
Alfa.lt news portal said on Monday that the Renaissance painting Salvator Mundi by Antonello da Messina would be tainted with faeces during the play "On The Concept Of The Face, Regarding The Son Of God" by director Romeo Castelluci at the National Drama Theater this weekend.
Furthermore, posters picturing Jesus in a fashion ad recently appeared in Vilnius.
Results of the general census published on Friday showed that 77 percent of Lithuanian residents identify themselves as Roman Catholics, while 4 percent are Orthodox. Another 6 percent said they were not members of any religious community.
