Marcin Przeciszewski – president of the Catholic Information Agency.
Until recently, the Church in Poland appeared to be one of the most dynamic and highly respected local churches in Europe, rooted in one of the most religious societies on the continent.
This happened largely due to the different history of the Church in our country compared to what has happened in the West for two centuries. In Polish lands in times of oppression, both partitionist and communist, the Church was the only space of freedom, thanks to which there was a strong link between Catholicism and culture. It was a different process from what Western Europe had experienced since the French Revolution, where liberation or republican movements usually developed in opposition to the Church, trapped in the alliance of the altar and the throne. As a result, in Poland faith has become integrated into culture as an almost inalienable element. The advantage of such a model is the widespread attachment to religious customs and the ease of transmission from generation to generation. Weakness is the domination of customs and practices over the deepest and most internal religious experience.
Thanks to this legacy, it seemed that Polish Catholicism would not follow a path similar to that of the West. There were concrete hopes that secularization, associated with the modern era, was something typical of Western Europe and that in our country the process of rapid development of civilization went hand in hand with the maintenance of a strong religiosity. This was confirmed by the period of almost 30 years after the regaining of freedom, when Polish society was strongly resistant to secularization trends. During this period, the Church in Poland managed to secure a dignified place in a democratic and pluralist country as an important moral authority, as well as to build well-functioning structures, human resources and institutions.
The strength of our Church is its significant apostolic forces. Never in history have we had so many priests: their number reaches 32.5 thousand. (also religious). This is largely the legacy of the pontificate of John Paul II. There are almost 16,000 people also involved in apostolic work. nuns from active congregations and supports 1.2 thousand of them with prayers. dandelion. As for laypeople, one in ten believers, or 2.7 million people, is involved in various church-related activities. They are active in over 150 movements and associations and in 65,000 less formalized groups in parishes.
The Church offers a significant contribution to the construction of culture and the education of society. It is also the second institution after the State that provides help to those in need. Caritas creates a well-organized network of thousands of institutions and religious orders manage 8,000 of them. other charitable works.
For several years, however, we have been faced with a new situation. The authority of the Church – due to the highly publicized sex scandals, many other errors and the wave of anti-Church demonstrations in autumn 2020 – is beginning to falter. If for 30 years after 1989 the Church enjoyed a stable majority (around 65%), in 2020 it was less than 40%, and currently at 46%.
This is especially visible among the metropolitan intelligentsia and young people. As regards the community of the largest Polish cities, especially the intelligentsia, in light of research by the ISKK (Institute for Statistics of the Catholic Church), only one in five inhabitants declares that they practice regularly. The decline of faith among the younger generations is disturbing. Already 40% consider themselves non-believers. young people, and only 5% consider themselves deeply religious. One in six young Poles systematically exercises. We can speak of an interruption in the intergenerational transmission of faith, which has been a natural thing here for centuries. One of the effects is the decline in priestly and religious vocations. The number of candidates for the priesthood has quadrupled, from 6.8 thousand. in 2000 to 1.7 thousand in 2023
The pandemic has also played a catalytic role in secularization processes. Deeply religious people with a strong identification with the Church have moved their religious life to the virtual world for this period, while others have simply “suspended” it. During the pandemic, dominicantes (the percentage of Catholics who participate in the Sunday Eucharist compared to the total number of those who are obliged) decreased by 7%, from 36 to 28%, and after its end they increased by only 1 ,5%.
As a consequence of all these processes, Poland is becoming a very diverse country in the religious sphere. While the over-60 generation resists the processes of secularization, the problems begin in the 50-60 age group (especially in metropolitan areas), and the younger the interviewees, the worse it is.
Following the reasoning of the prof. Chantal Delsol, it can be said that even in Poland the era of “christianitas” is coming to an end, defined as the time in which Christian faith and values are a permanent element of the cultural space that surrounds us. “Cultural Catholicism,” associated with the cultivation of inherited faith as a natural element of cultural identity, is significantly weakening. It is replaced by the faith of choice, the condition of which is personal research and the deepest religious experiences, which will always be lived by a minority. Polish society is entering a new era in which religiosity in the traditional sense will no longer be so mass.
– There will be no more crowds – said one of the bishops a few years ago, noting the change in the panorama of Polish religiosity. Pastors have been repeating for some time that it is necessary to move from the “mass” mode to the “individual” program and to be close to modern man, who is attacked from all sides with different life proposals, alternatives to the path proposed by the Gospel, and sometimes even in contradiction with it. The point is not to focus on separating ourselves from the modern world and the evil it brings, but to pastorally accompany people in daily challenges: emotional, family, social and above all religious. Cultural Catholicism is becoming a thing of the past; Today the mission of pastors is to present the Gospel in such a way that, among the many life proposals, modern man finds in absolute freedom the most interesting and important one, the one that will give him true happiness.
In this situation, one of the priorities should be to look for ways to reach those who turn away from the Church or leave. The concept of new evangelization, that is, of reaching those environments and regions that were once Christianized but which today become increasingly distant, becomes more relevant than ever.
In this context, the slogan of Francis’ pontificate on the need for “pastoral conversion” also becomes relevant. The Pope explains that it should apply to every ecclesiastical structure, from the curia to the common parish or monastery. And it’s about moving from a “conservative pastoral approach” to a much more open and decidedly missionary pastoral approach. To make this possible, Francis encourages a process of “discernment, purification and necessary reform” in the Church – at every level. He is convinced that a reform – and a fundamental one – requires the way of announcing the Gospel to the men of today and the way in which they are treated. He intends a new way of transmitting the message of Jesus, so that it can be heard by the people of the digital age, who live in an extremely relativized cultural environment. Francis repeats that we cannot wait for people to come, but we must look for them, going out towards the “existential peripheries” of the world.
The new evangelization should address first and foremost the intelligentsia of the big cities and young people. Initiatives such as the Courtyards of the Pagans wanted by Benedict XVI (known in Poland as Courtyards of Dialogue), the Cultural Congresses in Lublin, the Areopaghi in Gdansk, the Gniezno Congresses and the extensive evangelization initiatives taking place in Łódź under the wing patroness of Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś. It is worth considering how the pastoral care of creative communities should work today, in the new reality.
An intense reflection on the form of pastoral care in increasingly secularized metropolitan agglomerations is necessary. A good example here is the College des Bernardins in Paris, invented by the cardinal. Jean-Marie Lustiger. It is a combination of a world-class theological university and a dynamic cultural center in the center of Paris, where Christian culture is presented and debates take place that attract a large audience.
It is also worth involving Catholic movements, communities and associations in the process of evangelization of large cities. The problem, however, is that these are generally closed environments and, contrary to their purpose, they rarely go out.
The evangelization of young people and their place in the Church is an absolute priority today. To this end the Church should do its utmost. Today only 23% have direct and systematic contact with the Church. young Poles. At one time, the oasis movement created by P. played a huge role in awakening authentic faith as an encounter with Christ. Franciszek Blachnicki. This movement, after being subordinated to diocesan structures, largely lost momentum. However, numerous evangelization communities are developing, such as “Chemin Neuf”, “Emmanuel”, KSM, initiatives such as “Podeepiarka” or the Work of the New Millennium Foundation, as well as scout and scout organizations that cultivate the faith. Worth seeing are the diocesan youth meetings, the “Festival of Life” and the national youth meeting in Lednica.
Mgr. Grzegorz Suchodolski, president of the Youth Council of the Polish Episcopal Conference, forcefully underlines that today “not only young people must wake up, but also the Church as a community, including pastors. We must urgently seek new ways to reach young people.” He explains that “we will not do this alone as priests, but only with the help of well-trained peers”. This, in his opinion, is the key to the evangelization of young people He underlines that centers to train young lay leaders are being created in many places in Poland. They are managed by schools of new evangelization or by dioceses. He underlines that young people are involved where they are treated subjectively and where they are entrusted with a certain responsibility.
It is necessary to open every parish to young people more than before. This includes: because one of the effects of moving catechesis to schools is the frequent absence of young people from parishes. Perhaps it is worth following the path of the Church in Italy, where most parishes have created special oratories for young people. They are places where they feel at home, they can meet, do homework, play and make new friends, and at the same time they are educated.
And above all – to transmit the faith to young people – it is absolutely necessary for the Church to find a language that speaks to them, especially in the context of concepts such as freedom, human rights, love and sex. The success of the Church in the 1980s was due to the fact that faith showed the way to freedom. In turn, John Paul II, in his excellent catecheses, was able to show the beauty and importance of sex as an element of cementing the love of spouses. And Christian standards were not intended to limit love, but to help us experience its fullness. Today, this “imaginary” of concepts, so important for a young person, has been appropriated by left-wing movements, where freedom is associated with rebellion against tradition and the introduction of a new axiological order, and abortion is considered a human right.
The year 2024 begins after the October 15 Coalition, critical of the Church, takes power. Already in the first days after the formation of the government, Education Minister Barbara Nowacka had announced the limitation of religious teaching in schools to one hour a week. Donald Tusk announced the liquidation of the Church Fund and its replacement with a sort of voluntary tax for ecclesiastical purposes. There is also talk of the imminent presentation to the marshal’s staff of a bill on civil unions, and one of the first decisions of the new Parliament was the law allowing the financing of in vitro fertilization. All this, as well as many other needs, constitutes an enormous challenge for the Church and the hierarchs who are at its top.
Two scenarios are possible. The first is a decidedly defensive and unequivocally critical attitude towards the new government, which in fact means maintaining close ties with the PiS, this time in opposition. The second is an attempt at dialogue with the new government and the start of systematic and substantial negotiations on the issues reported, referring to the best solutions tested in countries with consolidated democracy.
The first scenario would be unfavorable for the Church, as it would deepen the already existing impression that the Church in Poland remains allied with a particular political tendency. This would mean betraying one of the fundamental traits of the Church’s mission, which is universalism. Implementing this scenario would also expose the Church to the fact that the current government treats it as a political adversary that should simply be destroyed.
The second is the scenario of dialogue with the dominant camp, despite all the differences and sometimes conflicting interests. This requires a lot of work and good expert forces on the part of the Church, capable of defending well-tested models of functioning of the Church in a democratic state on the local territory. It could also be an opportunity to rebuild a healthy separation between Church and State, guaranteed both by the Concordat and by the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. It is summed up in the formula of “mutual autonomy and independence”, which also allows cooperation for the common good.
The possibility that such a dialogue can take place is created by the bishop’s declaration. Artur G. Miziński, general secretary of the episcopate, of 29 December. Referring to the announcement of the liquidation of the Church Fund, he stated that “the Catholic Church is open to dialogue on this issue”. We hope that the joint government and episcopate commissions and the Church-State concordance commissions will soon be reconstituted in a new composition and that the talks will take place in this forum.
Liquidating the Church Fund and replacing it with a voluntary PIT tax paid by citizens to a selected Church could prove beneficial to the Church. The result could be the creation of a modern system of support for the Church with public funds, similarly to what has been done in many democratic European countries.
The dialogue between the episcopate and the government is also made necessary by the idea put forward by Minister Nowacka of limiting religion lessons at school to one hour per week. There is no danger that religion will be withdrawn from schools, since it is approved by the concordat, even if the number of hours is not specified. However, if the obligation of one lesson a week were introduced, this would not necessarily mean a failure in the religious education of the younger generations. The condition should be greater involvement of the parish in favor of children and young people, for example by organizing a second religion lesson or other systematic activities. Such a model exists, for example, in Italy or Lithuania, and it works well.
There is a need for a clear voice of the Church in the public space, which acts as a “critical conscience” in defense of the common good, regardless of where it may be threatened. The Church in Poland has played this role at least since the times of the primates Hlond and Wyszyński. Unfortunately, this voice of the Church has weakened significantly after 2015. The lack of a clear voice from the Church in situations such as, for example, the appropriation of the common good by a party, for example the public media, which by definition they should serve everyone, has given rise to the stereotype of the “alliance of the altar with the “throne”, which is always very dangerous for the Church. This has provoked growing criticism of the Church in broad intellectual circles linked to the opposition.
This is demonstrated, among others, by: CBOS research results, according to which only 15%. of voters for the Civic Coalition evaluate the Church positively, 81%. Bad. Of those who voted for the Third Way, 23% had a positive opinion of the Church, while 66% had a positive opinion of the Church. negatively. We have a high level of positive evaluation of the Church only among the United Right electorate. 82 percent PiS supporters have a good opinion of the Church, while only 9 percent have a bad opinion. This situation represents an enormous challenge for the Church. Now it is necessary to demonstrate to society that the Church is not on either side of the scene and extends its arms to everyone, regardless of political opinions.
Faced with all these challenges, which in fact require great changes in the way of thinking and functioning of the Church, an opportunity is the Synod initiated by the Pope: “Towards a synodal Church: communion, participation and mission”. It can play an important role in the process of discernment and internal renewal of the Church, including the Church in Poland.
The main task of the Synod is to deepen the community and the responsibility of the laity towards the Church, that is, to allow the intensification of the mission. We can trust that this will facilitate the activation of new apostolic forces, those hidden among the lay faithful. Only the activation of this “sleeping giant” – with the decrease in the number of the clergy – can guarantee a dynamic continuation of the work of evangelization. The condition for awakening the laity is to change the clergy-laity relationship towards overcoming clerical attitudes.
One of the challenges that the Polish bishops will have to face this year is the election of a new episcopal garrison. The mandate of the President and his deputy expires in March, that of the Secretary General in June. I will not draw up any ranking of names here. It is much more important that bishops ask themselves what kind of people who coordinate the work of the episcopate the Church in Poland needs today, and then do a thorough discernment.
It seems that in the historical turning point in which the Church in Poland finds itself there is a need for someone who has foresight and the ability to establish priorities as a leader. He should be a man of unquestionable orthodoxy, but open to dialogue and recognizing the need for reform. He cannot just be a “man in the middle” who “in the name of building unity” will be able to balance the different sensitivities that characterize bishops, but a pastor who looks ahead and has a vision. And in turn, in the new political situation in which Poland found itself after 15 October, it is worth having someone capable of dialogue for the common good, aware of the universal and suprapolitical mission of the Church – according to the conciliar commitment principle of ‘”autonomy and independence” of the Church and the political community.
In 2024, the pastors of some of the most important archdioceses will also retire: Warsaw, Krakow and Poznań. This will also lead to major changes in the Episcopal Conference.
