THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE NEW EUROPE: IMPULSES AND DIVERGENCES
Dr. Paulius V. Subačius
(Vilnius University, Lithuania)
I will try to share my thoughts concerning the impulses given by the Church to the development of the New Europe as seen from the Lithuanian perspective.
It is rather obvious that we wouldn’t be speaking of the enlargement of the European Union and its related social and cultural developments if the Soviet Empire had not crumbled fifteen years ago. The collapse of the Soviet Union is sometimes ascribed to economic reasons, sometimes to the role of politicians like Gorbachev or Reagan (1). It is not very often that the analysts refer to the resistance inspired by authentic belief, or quote spiritual freedom and morality as the potent agents that eroded the system contrary to human nature and moral principles. It is a regrettable fact that very few historians see the significance of the contribution made by the Pope John Paul the Second. At best, they refer to his contribution as the contribution of a person who had first-hand experience of Soviet oppression, and that made him take a firm stand against the Communist totalitarianism. They forget that it was the Church in the person of the Holy Father that defended the rights and dignity of the oppressed; that it was the Church that took every opportunity to resist the conciliatory attitudes to the inhuman system.
Lithuania is a vivid example of a country where the Church fostered and defended positions that later became the main guidelines for the reconstruction of the civil society. After the armed anti-Soviet resistance had been drowned in blood in the post-war period, the most of the efforts to regain freedom were sustained by the Church and took place in the context of the Church (2). Lithuania had no movements comparable to the Polish trade unions or the movement of the Czech writers. Underground literature consisted mainly of Catholic texts written and edited by priests or monks and then distributed by dedicated laymen. The Chronicle of the
Catholic Church in Lithuania, initiated by the present Archbishop of Kaunas, Sigitas Tamkevičius, has been translated into a number of languages and has become a synonym of the free word of truth under the Soviet oppression (3). The protection of the rights of the believers was the most prominent and the only consistent form of the protection of human rights, particularly during the last two decades of the Soviet occupation.The effort made during the years of oppression began yielding fruit after the restoration of independence in 1990. A Catholic group of cultural activists trained in the underground conditions currently occupy important public positions, the influence of which is much greater than it could be statistically expected from a group of that size (4). In public discussions on the future of Lithuania that group has been the most consistent advocate of dissociation from the Russian influence and of turning the country back towards Europe (5). On the eve of Lithuania’s accession to the European Union, th
e influential political journal Veidas published a list of ten persons who had contributed most to the changes in Lithuania after the Soviet occupation. The list includes the names of two Catholic priests – the late Cardinal Vincentas Sladkevičius and the present Cardinal Audrys Bačkis (6). Ever since the restoration of the independent Lithuanian state, secular media have made considerable attempts to undermine the authority of the Church. Nevertheless, at critical moments, whenever one needs to undertake momentous decisions, various sections of society turn towards their Catholic pastors for guidance. That was precisely the situation during the recent presidential crisis and, even more so, on the eve of the last year’s referendum on Lithuania’s joining the European Union. The Lithuanian Catholic Bishops’ Conference showed an unambiguous support to the accession. It issued a letter to the believers (2003 03 04), which said: “Lithuania needs your vote no less than it needs your prayers. It needs prayers for Europe so that God would help us all to build a civilisation of love.”(7) The dissemination of a pro-European poster and of a special publication was conducted through ecclesiastical institutions. Highest-ranking public officials participated in the meetings of the clergy devoted to the European subject. The efforts of the Church to reach every Lithuanian with the message on the importance of the referendum were the main factor that determined the large turnout of the voters and their overwhelming support to Lithuania’s membership in the European Union.In welcoming European integration, the Lithuanian clergy have been unanimous and, by and large, hardly presented any reservations. This was not because they do not have any, but because there are very few political or social forces in Lithuania that those reservations could be addressed to. Lithuania lacks political or social forces that could participate productively in the discussions of problems related to European identity or traditions, or present a sober assessment of moral relativism. Before the referendum, the Bishops decided to refrain from controversial statements so as to avoid causing confusion among the people. The fact of European enlargement does not, by itself, terminate debates on the more tricky and complicated subjects, such as the protection of unborn life. On the contrary, it pushes them forward and brings about various new aspects. And the voice of the Church in these debates can be heard no longer hindered by the limitations that the ambiguous context of post-Soviet social and political transformations previously imposed.
The Secretariat of the COMECE knows very well how to react effectively to the resolutions of various European institutions or to participate in their development, and is ready to impart this knowledge to the Catholics of the new member-states. The bottom-line is obvious – namely, it is of utmost importance that the new Europe fosters its Christian heritage and does not drift away from the Church’s position on humanity, family and life – the position that has shaped our civilisation.
What lessons can the Catholic Church and the Christian communities of Central Europe offer, from their own experience, to the family of 25 member states? First and foremost, it is the first-hand experience of the disastrous effects of conformism. Soviet totalitarianism stimulated political and ideological conformism, and the Church was hit worst of all by its external and, to some extent, internal effects. Today, we are witnessing the results and mechanisms born of that cancerous spread of conformism which pervaded all spheres of human activity and thought. However, the conformism that welfare society adopts towards modern life-style, towards the spirit of the times, as well as towards new fads, is much more covert and dangerous. Conformism to the cult of efficiency and permissiveness is only a seemingly inoffensive attitude (8). If, as the Christian community of Central Europe teaches, we fully understand the disastrous effects of conformism, we will be better prepared to resist any form conformism that may emerge.
A number of challenges confronted the Catholic Church in Lithuania quite abruptly. The most prominent example is the propaganda of the culture of death. The experience of the Church’s unexpected confrontation with this challenge is quite instructive and illuminating. And not only because our advocates of pro-life stance took up influential positions right from the start, having had the benefit of the special expertise and modes of argumentation developed in the West over many years by the like-minded individuals. Their activities have been compared to the computerisation of the country, for, starting from the scratch, they managed to avoid many of the transitional stages and false tracks, and are already operating on the level with their Western colleagues. What is much more important is the fact that, since the society and the Church were suddenly and almost simultaneously confronted with the threats of euthanasia, medical abortion, artificial dissemination, cloning and aggressive sexual education, this makes it possible to show that these phenomena stem from common evil and are intrinsically related. This situation also makes it possible to encourage persons who have not been lulled by this creeping contempt for human life to take a clear and firm position in this respect, and share it with the other Europeans.
I am convinced that the dangers of the seemingly inoffensive attempts to revive the ancient European pagan cults, which ostensibly are reminiscent of a childish game, are much more prominent in the post-Soviet countries. In Lithuania, such attempts have received even a certain political, academic and cultural endorsement. On the other hand, at the embryonic stage of such tendencies, it is easier for Christian believers to draw society’s attention to the fact that neo-paganism seeks association with political radicals, and that the propagation of the so-called primitive natural life is nothing else but a camouflage of the practices of free sex and drug addiction (9).
Soviet persecution brought the Catholic Church closer to other confessions. Practical ecumenism, born out of necessity to face common threats, takes deeper and firmer root in the hearts of believers than abstract tolerance. Today, the Lithuanian State recognises as many as nine traditional religious communities, including the small Muslim Sunni group that has a history of 500 years’ life in Lithuania behind it. Its peaceful and reciprocally well-wishing existence within the Christian environment is an experience that the European Union can find instructive.
What I have brought here to your attention is only possibilities and opportunities for sharing experience; there are a number of factors, first of all the grace of God that will determine whether Europe will avail itself of these opportunities.
A considerable part of responsibility for that rests with the Church in the old member states of the European Union. We must admit that the Lithuanian population tries to imitate their well-to-do neighbours and adapt itself to the attitudes coming from Brussels. If the Christian believers of Germany, Italy or Spain could persuade their politicians to place a particular emphasis on the role of the Christian values in the development of the European Union, this emphasis could become a guideline for the political and cultural elite of the new member-states. Otherwise, if the Constitution of the European Union, as well as other fundamental European documents, ignore the Christian European identity or the role of religious communities, it will be difficult to expect that our public figures will take the position of the Church into adequate consideration. Since we will share the fruits of our common actions to an ever increasing extent, we must also share the responsibility for the Christian future of the European community.
__________________________________________
(1) Cf. Lieven, Anatol. The Baltic revolution: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Path to Independence, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1994.
(2) Cf. Remeikis, Thomas. Opposition to Soviet Rule in Lithuania, 1945-1980. Chicago, 1980; Girnius, Kestutis; Girnius, Saulius, "Five Years of the Catholic Committee in Lithuania: Its Achievements and Dispersal", in: Radio Liberty Research, 1983, November 11; Bourdeaux, Michael. Land of Crosses: The struggle for religious freedom in Lithuania, 1939-1978. - Devon, 1979.
(3) Cf. Lietuvos Katalíku Bažnyčios kronika = Chronicle of the Catholic Chirch in Lithuania, vol. 11, ed. by Vidas Spengla, Kaunas: LKB TKK, 1997.
(4) Cf. Subačius, Paulius. "Az eufória éz a hétkoznapok kozott az egyház Litvániában: az elso posztszovjet évtized", in: A Katolíkus Egyház a balti országokban, Szerk. Adriano Caprioli és Luciano Vaccaro, Budapest: M. Katolikus Puspoki Kar Egyháztort. Biz. 2000, p. 311-333.
(5) Cf. Navickas, Andrius. "Litauen", in: Katholische Kirche und Zivilgesellschaft in Osteuropa: Postkommunistiche Transformation-pozesse in Polen, Tschechien, der Slowakei und Litauen, Hrsg. von Manfred Spieker, Oaderborn-Munchen-Wien-Zurich: Ferdinand Schoningh, 2003, s. 358-360.
(6) Veidas [=Face], 2004, vol. 18
(7) Bažnyčios žinios [=Church News], 2003, vol. 5
(8) Cf. Averinčev, Sergej. "O perpektivach christianstva v Evrope: popitka orientačii", url: www.stphilaret.ru/averintsev/christ.htm
(9) Cf. Beresnevičius, Gintaras. "Wiederbelebung der heidnischen Religion: religiose Reaktion oder Forderung der modern Zeit?", in: Fortsetzung folgt: Essays uber Litauen und Europa, Hrsg. von Paulius Subačius, Vilnius: Inter Nos, 2002, s. 164-175.
Paulius V. Subačius, born 1968-05-04 in Vilnius. Studied Lithuanian language and literature at Vilnius University. Was an active participant of the de-sovietization move
ment in Lithuania, one of the first promoters of the idea to return the closed University church to the believers and turn it into the center for academic pastoral needs. After the completion of doctoral studies in 1996, defended a doctoral thesis about the formation of the Lithuanian identity. From 1992, a professor at the University, currently associated professor of History and Theory of Literature. Associate of the Vilnius University Religious Studies Center. Member of Council for the Laity of Lithuanian Bishops Conference, adviser for social communication of Lithuanian Bishops Conference. From 1991, a constant contributor and religious observer of the Christian monthly ”Naujasis Židinys-Aidai”. For the past 11 years, a commentator on religious issues at Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty and the Lithuanian Catholic Radio. Author or editor of seven books in field of philology, history and religion.