Kościół katolicki na pograniczu polsko-litewskim: strategia pojednania i zjednoczenia wiernych?

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Katalikų bažnyčia; Lenkija (Lenkijos karalystė. Kingdom of Poland. Poland); Lenkų mažuma Lietuvoje; Lenkų-lietuvių santykiai; Lietuvių mažuma Lenkijoje; Pasienis; Religiniai konfliktai; Seinai; Vilnius; 20 amžius; 21 amžius; Lithuania; Lithuanian minority in Poland; Pilish minority in Lithuania; Polish-Lithuanian relations; Religious conflicts; Seinai; The Catholic Church; The second half of 20th c. - the beginning of 21st c; Vilnius.

ENThe unity of the faith, the fact that the Poles and Lithuanians are, by most part, Catholics, has to create, as it seems, pre-conditions for spiritual convergence, for a peaceful coexistence of the Polish and Lithuanian groups in the borderland regions. But the history of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century is chock-full with examples and instances of the Polish-Lithuanian relations becoming worse and worse, and conflict situations arousing solely on religious grounds. The situation of the Polish minority in Lithuania and of the Lithuanian minority in Poland is in many aspects similar, but not symmetric: the situation of Lithuanians in Poland is worse, their rights and possibilities are more limited. Everywhere the religious conflicts and discussions are interlaced with the goals of national movements, ambitions for a cultural domination on a certain territory („our homeland”), with the political doctrines determining the attitude of the state towards national minorities. The policies of state nationalism sometimes emerge (are given their voice) in the activities of both - The Polish Catholic Church and Lithuanian Catholic Church, formally independent from the state.The factors observed, to be the main motives and objects of disagreements between ethnic communities, are, as a rule: the language used during liturgy; the language used on inscriptions (memorial tables, epitaphs, information texts) in temples and graveyards; the access to churches, having significance of national symbols (such as Vilnius Cathedral for the Polish Catholics or the Basilica in Sejny for the Lithuanian minority), for the believers of one or the other nationality; the „cadre-politics” of the bishop curia (leadership of the dioceses) nominating as senior priests clergymen speaking (or not speaking) in the mother-language of parishioners. The modern strategy of the Catholic Church (in the paradigm of the Second Vatican Congress decision, of the new Lumen Gentium, and of humanitarian activity of Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI) is characterized by giving more attention to the ethnic-cultural diversity in the Christian world and, especially in Eastern Europe, and to the rights of the believers (as well as members of the national minorities) to pray, to confess and to teach their children catechism in their mother-language („language of the heart”). On this grounds the prospect of unity and reconciliation between Catholics-Lithuanians and Catholics-Poles has a great chance in the future. [From the publication]