ABSTRACT
Differences in the use of the concept of modernization make it necessary briefly to discuss the Soviet interpretation of its theory and practice. The Catholics of the Soviet Union form a diaspora church, found in Leningrad and Moscow where the parishioners are mostly Lithuanians, Poles and Latvians, and in Central Asia where many of the believers are of German background. Latin rite Catholics constitute one of the smaller religious groups of the Soviet Union. The inquiry, furthermore, should help in the discussion of such crucially important questions as whether the admitted Communist hostility to Catholicism or religion in general is characteristic only to a particular stage of advancing industrialization or endemic to the communist system itself. Bishop Kazimieras Paltarokas had reformist allies among the young clergy and lay intelligentsia who worked within the structure of Catholic Action movement. The church, lost a percentage of practicing Catholics, especially in the cities which in 1973 constituted fifty-four percent of the republic's population.
