Enslavement of the Church in Poland in 1953 (original) (raw)
Related papers
Actions against the Catholic Church in Polish People’s Republic till 1953, „The Person and the Challenges” 2019, vol. 9, nr 2, p. 41–52
In the years 1944-1948, the authorities of communist Poland, for tactical reasons abstained from direct attacks on the Catholic Church. After the establishment of the au-thorities' structures and once the political opposition and armed forces underground were defeated, systematic restriction on the influence of the Church begun. Back then, the Catholic Church was the only independent social institution in the country. What was attacked then was, among others, religious education in schools (religious education , crosses and catechists were removed from schools, Catholic education was limited), catholic organisations, charitable and care activities of the Church (at the beginning of 1950, the state took over "Caritas" and kindergartens, children's homes, hospitals were taken from the Church) as well as publishing activities (Catholic press releases were being restricted). The repressions were hindered by the signature of the Church-State Agreement in April 1950. When in 1952, the activities aimed at the removal of religious education from schools were intensified, several dozens of theological seminaries were dissolved and some of the boarding-schools run by the Church were taken over, then Primate Stefan Wyszyński defined the relations between the Church and the State as a "state of emergency".
The Catholic Church in Poland in the Years 1944-1950
2013
The reality, in which the People's Republic of Poland found itself after world war II, made the Catholic Church in Poland meet the new challenges, in spite of much authority which it had in the society. The one of a principle importance was breaking the Concordat by the State authorities. After a certain period of time lack of any legal solution on such a level considerably complicated relations between the State and the Church. Searching closure in this area was supposed to guarantee the Church certain freedom in priests' activities and the State authorities-acceptance in the international arena. In spite of certain inconveniences the Polish Episcopate decided to sign an agreement, which however did not protect the Church against further excluding from the social life.
2020
After World War II had ended, the Soviet authorities expelled the Metropolitan Archbishop of Vilnius Romuald Jałbrzykowski from Vilnius. He ended up in Białystok, where he established the structures of the local Church known today as the Archdiocese of Białystok. Persecuted and imprisoned by the NKVD, Archbishop Romuald Jałbrzykowski did not forget the priests of the Archdiocese of Vilnius, who were detained, imprisoned, and/or sent to labor camps in the summer of 1945. He made efforts to work with the Polish People’s Republic to release those who were being detained. The leaders of the Communist Party in Poland considered the archbishop an enemy of the socialist regime that prevailed in Poland after World War II had ended.
Roman Catholic Church in the Fight for Social Justice during the Communist Dictatorship in Poland
Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Theologia Orthodoxa, 2017
The Roman Catholic Church in Poland was the main force capable to oppose the communist dictatorship. Although the state was officially "socialist" the condition of ordinary people, including workers in industry and agriculture, was deplorable. Communist regime totally neglected the principles of social justice, creating and using against society the whole apparatus of repression. The Church was only force in the society which created "space of liberty", provided instruction in the principles of Catholic social teaching and moral strength to the fighting for peoples' rights. In the absence of any organisation truly representing the world of work, the Roman Catholic Church often played the role of intermediation between the civil authorities and the society. All this led in many ways to the martyrdom of Church leaders and other Church representatives. Suffering with the nation and sharing its fate allowed the Church building up a unique authority, what is still fruiting nowadays when the society tries to shake off the rests of communism now disguised in the suit of liberalism.
2012
"The right to associate in modern democracies is regarded as one of the personal liberties. It underlies the free operation of various types of organizations and associations, including those established out of religious inspiration. However, it was not the case in the People's Republic of Poland (PRP) in the years 1945-1989 when the Communist Party held sway over the country, and the dominant political system was rested on the materialist ideology of Marxism-Leninism. Discussing the issue of freedom of association in the PRP and its restrictions with regard to Church-led organizations, it is therefore necessary to highlight its ideological foundations. Hence, the main body of discussion is preceded by the explanation of the difference between the concept of the right to freedom of association adopted in modern democracies and that of socialist countries. Next, the author outlines the relations between the communist regime and the Roman Catholic Church and its organizations. The communist authorities' anti-religious activities driven by the prevailing ideology led to the elimination of almost all the Church-led organizations. Legal measures were not the only methods adopted in this struggle, the regime also resorted to other means of effacing Catholic organizations from public life. The study is largely based on the archival material sourced from the Polish state and Church archives. "
Roczniki Teologiczne
The fundamental purpose of this article is to present the specificity of the totalitarian communist regime to the status quo of the Catholic Church functioning in the Polish People's Republic in the early post-war period (1945−1956). Therefore, the analysis of the discussed issues allows one to expose the nature of the Stalinist system of repression described as the “dictatorship of the proletariat,” taking into account the tough and challenging situation of the Catholic Church, forced not only to fight for her survival but above all to preserve the Christian identity of the Polish nation. The reinterpretation of the Stalinist totalitarian system from the perspective of Christian personalistic praxeology discloses its unprecedentedly criminal nature. Moreover, the presentation of the fundamental assumptions of the totally anti-human and anti-Christian paradigm that characterizes the “dictatorship of the proletariat” makes it possible to interpret Stalinism in terms of not only d...
The Political Strategies of the Catholic Church in Poland
Religion, State and Society, 2010
This paper explores the political activity of the Catholic Church in Poland in the years 1990-2009 in terms of categories of political strategies. I argue that the church as an institution applied varied strategies with the aim of influencing the politics of the day. These took on three forms, in which the church acted as (1) a political principal, (2) a creator of political values and (3) an interest group. In the period between 1990 and 1997 the church attempted to exert a direct influence on the political scene by supporting the Catholic national parties. In the period between 1997 and 2004 the church focused on the second of the above-mentioned strategies by supporting the establishment of Christian Democratic parties. In the years 2004-2009 we can observe a more varied strategy consisting of a formal withdrawal from political activity with a simultaneous acceptance of political engagement on the part of the Catholic national Radio Maryja. During the whole period under analysis the church effectively acted as an interest group. This has resulted in a growing dependence of the church on the state, which-in connection with symptoms of institutional crisis-may lead to a particular kind of 'cartelisation of the church'.