In an earlier post, I summarized the latest developments in the case of Our Lady of Vilnius, a Lithuanian parish in Manhattan whose closure was questionably carried out by Cardinal Egan. As photographs have shown, not only have the pews, stained glass, altar, and icon been removed--for safekeeping, according to the archdiocese--but some of the artwork has been painted over. (As you may have guessed, the blue paint in the photo below is not original to the space.)

In 2002, the U.S. government signed an agreement with Lithuania "to protect and preserve the cultural heritage of all national, religious,or ethnic groups that reside or resided in [each country's] territory," as Article I states. Furthermore, "the term 'cultural heritage' for the purposes of this agreement means places of worship" and other places of historical significance.

According to Jeffrey Farrow of the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad, Our Lady of Vilnius is covered under Article I of the agreement. In a Feb. 23, 2007, letter I obtained, Warren L. Miller, chairman of the Commission, asks Egan to reconsider closing the parish:

Three days later, Cardinal Egan summoned the parish administrator for a meeting during which private security guards changed the locks on the church.