Užsienio lietuvių vyskupas Paulius Antanas Baltakis OFM: tarnystės Bažnyčiai ir Tėvynei kelias

LTŠia monografija nagrinėjama tema - „Užsienio lietuvių vyskupas Paulius Antanas Baltakis OFM: tarnystės Bažnyčiai ir Tėvynei kelias“ - pagal įprastą skirstymą apima keletą istorinio pažinimo sričių, kurios yra artimos, tačiau nėra tapačios. Šiuos ir kitus veikalo turinio dalių sąryšius reikia sukonkretinti. Pirma, monografija mėginta atskleisti vieno asmens veiklą. Tad iš pirmo žvilgsnio knyga gali būti priskirta biografiniam žanrui. Visgi joje nėra sistemingai gilinamasi į šio dvasininko gyvenimo istoriją (vaikystę ir paauglystę, studijas ir dvasinį formavimąsi, netgi kunigišką tarnystę), taip pat charakterio ypatumus, o išryškinami esminiai išvardytų tarpsnių metu įvykę dalykai. Tam parašytas skyrius apie knygos herojaus bažnytinės tarnystės kelią. Jo pažinimas talkina svarbesnio monografijos temai dalyko - šio ganytojo nesielovadinių darbų - atskleidimui. Antra, kadangi pastaruoju metu buvo aprašyti vysk. P. Baltakio pastoracinės veiklos bruožai, monografija mėginta išryškinti šio hierarcho nesielovadinius darbus, kurie stipriai persipynę su tautine savimone ir pareigų tėvynei supratimu. Tam skirti skyriai „Tautos krikšto jubiliejus“ ir „Darbai Lietuvai“. Šis teminis posūkis sudaro įspūdį, jog daugiausia dėmesio skirta užsienio lietuvių ganytojo veiklos pasaulietiniams aspektams, bet toks vertinimas būtų klaidingas (p. 13).

ENThe monograph, “Lithuanian Diaspora Bishop Paulius Baltakis OFM: His Path Serving the Church and His Homeland”, reveals the characteristics of the bishops pastoral role outside of Lithuania in respect of his Lithuanian identity during his bishopric between 1984-2003. This topic is important because it may help to reveal the links between Lithuanian national identity and Catholicism, as well as the activities of Lithuanian clergy in the Diaspora and of those who supported Lithuania. This knowledge can be useful in analysing and evaluating the consequences of migration of Lithuanians and other nationalities in Europe, in particular the relationship between religiosity and nationality. Scholarly studies of the history of the Roman Catholic Lithuanians outside of Lithuania have been scarce to date. Texts written about Bishop P. Baltakis include some very brief biographies of a popular nature, published in commemorative publications and on some websites. There has been a paucity of scholarly writings that would reveal the work completed by Bishop P. Baltakis, or would provide additional facts for the monograph. The master s thesis on pastoral activities of this bishop by I. Vitkuvienė has added to the minimal number of scholarly publications. The author was one of the first researchers to refer to the official documents of Bishop P. Baltakis. There have been many articles written about Lithuanians in the diaspora supporting Lithuanians back in the Homeland - through moral and material aid, informational and political assistance. Yet the spiritual aspect - the work of religious communities and their leaders - has not yet been discussed. In most situations that describe the work of Bishop P. Baltakis and those who helped him, this aspect (i.e. by the representation of religious organizations and the laity) has remained unaddressed.Only a few authors mentioned Bishop P. Baltakis, but his work dedicated to the homeland was not presented. Newly collected sources for the topic are extensive. Among the published are - media articles, periodicals and memoirs of the participants. Of these, the most important are the “Bishop’s Information” pamphlet frequently issued by Bishop Baltakis, as well as foreign Lithuanian periodicals and especially the newspaper “Draugas”. Among the unpublished are church and governmental texts. Yet the most important are his office correspondence, notes and letters, which are now stored in the archives of the Curia of the Archdiocese of Kaunas. Additionally, important sources of information about Lithuanians in exile were found in the archives of Lithuanian diplomatic posts that existed in the diaspora when Lithuania was part of the Soviet Union and in the KGB files of Lithuania SSR.