Dvidešimt penkeri religinės laisvės metai, 1988-2013: krikščionys Lietuvos visuomenėje po Atgimimo
LTMonografija „Dvidešimt penkeri religinės laisvės metai. 1988–2013: Krikščionys Lietuvos visuomenėje po Atgimimo“ (2 tomai) aprėpia pokomunistinę šalies transformaciją sąžinės laisvės įtvirtinimo ir konfesinio organizavimosi aspektu, derina kultūrologinę, sociologinę, politologinę ir religijotyrinę perspektyvas. Nagrinėjama krikščionių bendruomenių, pirmiausia Katalikų Bažnyčios Lietuvoje, vidinė raida, struktūrų ir sąmoningumo pokyčiai, sąveika su kitomis visuomenės institucijomis. Aptariamas teisinis religijų statusas, jį apibrėžiančių teisės aktų susiformavimas. Svarstoma, kodėl ir kaip episkopatas rėmė didžiuosius politinius Lietuvos pasirinkimus (santvarkos pobūdį, demokratijos įgyvendinimo modelį, integraciją į ES ir NATO), savo ruožtu pabrėždamas Valstybės ir Bažnyčios atskirumą bei kišimosi į bendruomenių reikalus užkardymą. Knygose taip pat pateikiama daug informacijos apie religinį ugdymą, krikščioniškas kultūrines ir karitatyvines iniciatyvas, metropolitų kard. Audrio Juozo Bačkio ir arkivysk. Sigito Tamkevičiaus diarchijos, kard. Vincento Sladkevičiaus istorinio vaidmens interpretacija. Skelbiamas reprezentatyvus bažnytinių archyvų dokumentų, faksimilių ir istorinių fotografijų rinkinys.
ENThis historical monograph offers reflections on the internal changes in the Catholic Church and other Christian communities, their mutual relations, interaction with social and political life, and their influence on the development of democracy in the wake of the epoch of forced atheisation and persecution of religious institutions in the totalitarian USSR. Within the framework of the converging perspectives of sociology, political science and religious studies, the material is presented in fourteen thematic clusters: the legal status of religions, Christians in politics, nationalism, church structures, religious education, pastoral work, cultural and charity work, the clergy and its formation, ecumenism, religion in the media etc. Events and processes are analysed from the Catholic viewpoint, which is determined by the author’s conscious choice and the material that is used - documents held in three most important current church archives (the Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference and the Diocesan Curias of Vilnius and Kaunas), as well as interviews with more than 350 clergymen, active laypeople and representatives of the government and non-governmental organisations, made over the course of twenty years. The monograph opens with a consideration on which point in time marked the beginning of religious freedom, and reveals that the episcopate urged priests to take bold action at the end of the summer of 1988, and the communist structures stopped putting direct pressure on the Church at the very beginning of 1989. The chronological period covered in the book ends in 2013, when the Pope accepted the resignation of the Vilnius Archbishop Cardinal Audrys Juozas Bačkis, and the Kaunas Archbishop Sigitas Tamkevičius handed in his resignation upon reaching the age limit prescribed by the canons.The hierarchy that was closely related to the fighting Church of the occupation period was ultimately replaced by a generation of bishops who were consecrated as priests already in the conditions of freedom. The period of twenty-five years is divided into smaller spans: 1) before the end of 1993, when the euphoria of the National Revival dissipated after the visit of John Paul II, 2) before 2000, when three concordats between Lithuania and the Holy See were signed, 3) before 2008, when the intensification of religious activity reached its peak, and 4) the final span, when religious expression became more dispersed and polyphonic. In the years of the National Revival and the first years of Independence, communication between the Church, the National Reform Movement Sąjūdis and the government, the handling of legal issues and the managing of Christian education and media, as well as international contacts were determined by extremely scarce human resources and were dependant on the very few broad-minded and culturally committed clergymen. Upon the arrival ofthe apostolic nuncio and the appointment of the high-standing Vatican official, Monsignor Bačkis, to Vilnius in 1991, the relations between the Church and the State moved to the dimension of partners on equal footing. Cardinal Bačkis strongly relied on the teachers and alumni of the restored Vilnius Priest Seminary. Archbishop Tamkevičius of Kaunas first of all called for help on clergymen and nuns known from their underground activity. Leading a sometimes heated, but intense and fruitful parity-based dialogue, both metropolitans lent the highest church leadership determination and speed in decision-making.Spiritual, intellectual and organisational-material efforts of Christians in Lithuania were focused on three spheres: 1) restoration of the fields and forms of activity and organisations that existed before the occupation, 2) maintenance of sacral and community buildings and establishment of new centres in the expanding cities, 3) development of contemporary initiatives of pastoral care, evangelisation and education meeting the demands of secularised postmodern society, which gradually became a priority. The Kaunas metropolitan district looked up to the pre-war period or even sought to surpass it; significant events - the Eucharistic Congress and the Archdiocesan Synod - were held for the second time, many organisations were restored, and initiatives that responded to the new situation were encouraged under historical facades. In the meantime, the Vilnius Ordinary tended to act on experimental grounds, giving priority to the efforts of building a successful primary example or operating model over development management, which was left for other people’s initiative and natural growth. The projects of church relief and patronage, and the know-how of organising effective integration of homeless people and former prisoners, treatment of addictions, nursing of terminally ill patients and socialisation of mentally disabled persons, which was adopted with the help of international Christian organisations, played an important cushioning role in the face of the change of the economic system. The efforts to foster the traditional and new forms of communal life were an important way to promote the progress of civil society as a constellation of subsidiarily operating groups. [...].
