The role of the church in the reformation of cultural identity of the nation

Audrys Juozas Backis

The text is a speech held by the cardinal and archbishop of Vilnius Audrys Juozas Backis on the occasion of his conferment of a honorary doctorate from the Papal theological academy. The ceremony took place in Krakow at the Collegium Maius hall of the Jagellonian University.

“The Church, while contributing to the reconstruction and renovation of national identity, protects it from blind enclosure or from the inability to reject what hurts human dignity […]. National culture is a dynamic phenomenon. In the contemporary world, it is important to unite tradition and new conditions of life, that means to create a living national culture that is based on a tradition inherited from earlier generations, but also a culture which is renewed and developed.”