Pope to visit a changed landscape
The truth is that pope has been and remains a hugely political figure, not in any party sense, but in the fact that his message has a clear political impact and implication. Historically, his election to the Bishopric of Rome in 1978 was one of the first major shock waves to hit the Polish communist political system after 1945, and many well remember the confusion and fear that his election sowed among top communist officials at the time.
Although Poland's communists had never managed to subordinate the Polish church, in contrast to those of other Soviet Bloc states, they had nonetheless sought to undermine its authority. The election of the Polish pope meant communists had to recognize much more the de facto permanence of the Catholic Church as an institution independent of state control, and the Polish regime itself being a significant rupture in communist ideology. The pope's subsequent visit to Poland in 1979 is seen by many as having laid the ground for the emergence of the independent Solidarity trade union a year later. His visit and the consequent outpouring of public affection for the fist time brought home to many Poles that they were not alone in their rejection of the communist system.
The great test of John Paul II's papacy came during the martial law period, when the Polish Catholic Church was buffeted by two extreme pressures. One pressure was that of radical anti-communist activists, who demanded that the Polish church back much more radical and direct action against General Wojciech Jaruzelski's martial law regime. There was also a significant faction of Catholics who, in contrast, were arguing for a grand compromise with the communist authorities and final recognition of the permanence of the communist system.
By rejecting this false dichotomy, John Paul II and the Polish Catholic Church were able to preserve the autonomy of the church in 1980s. They balanced discreet support for the anti-communist dissident movement with preservation of the church's own institutional interests, in the belief that in the long run it was only the autonomy of the Catholic Church that would guarantee social freedom.
The task facing Pope John Paul II and the Polish church in the 1990s has been of a completely different character, that of preparing the Polish Catholic Church to face the challenges of democracy and liberalism. A task that is sorely misunderstood.
A popular view, disseminated by journalists who should know better, is that the Polish Catholic Church in the 1990s has been a threat to democracy and freedom through its stand on issues such as abortion. Adam Michnik, the left-wing editor of Poland's Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper, even made the famous statement that Poland faced the threat of "Khomeinization," in a reference to the Ayatollahs of Iran. The truth is that anyone accusing the church of conservatism suggests that a church should instead reflect the fads and fashions of the times - as indeed many churches do in the West.
The real question, however, is whether the Polish Catholic Church has sought to exert real political power in the political system. And here the answer is a firm "No." There is a distinction between political parties running on a platform that reflects church teaching, which voters are entitled to accept or reject, and attempts by the Catholic hierarchy to specifically interfere in day-to-day government decision making. Moreover, following its experiences in the 1993 parliamentary elections, when the church backed a right-wing group that failed miserably, there has been great caution even in favoring specific parties or politicians at election time.
With the upcoming visit of John Paul II, attention now turns to the message that Poles will be expecting to here. This time, the pope is not coming to a country that is struggling to emerge from communism, or even grappling with the problems of building a democracy and free market economy: those issues have largely been settled. Instead, Poland is becoming a country like many others in Western Europe, which as the millennium nears, face the challenges of maintaining human freedom and dignity in the face of the challenges of moral relativism and technological globalization, where there seems little room for fundamental principles and values. That discussion is one that cuts across party politics completely. The questions that will arise and the answers found in these discussions in Poland will define this nation in the years to come much more deeply than any day-to-day political debate.
Marek Matraszek is the Warsaw Director of CEC Government Relations. He can be e-mailed on director@cec.com.pl
Although Poland's communists had never managed to subordinate the Polish church, in contrast to those of other Soviet Bloc states, they had nonetheless sought to undermine its authority. The election of the Polish pope meant communists had to recognize much more the de facto permanence of the Catholic Church as an institution independent of state control, and the Polish regime itself being a significant rupture in communist ideology. The pope's subsequent visit to Poland in 1979 is seen by many as having laid the ground for the emergence of the independent Solidarity trade union a year later. His visit and the consequent outpouring of public affection for the fist time brought home to many Poles that they were not alone in their rejection of the communist system.
The great test of John Paul II's papacy came during the martial law period, when the Polish Catholic Church was buffeted by two extreme pressures. One pressure was that of radical anti-communist activists, who demanded that the Polish church back much more radical and direct action against General Wojciech Jaruzelski's martial law regime. There was also a significant faction of Catholics who, in contrast, were arguing for a grand compromise with the communist authorities and final recognition of the permanence of the communist system.
By rejecting this false dichotomy, John Paul II and the Polish Catholic Church were able to preserve the autonomy of the church in 1980s. They balanced discreet support for the anti-communist dissident movement with preservation of the church's own institutional interests, in the belief that in the long run it was only the autonomy of the Catholic Church that would guarantee social freedom.
The task facing Pope John Paul II and the Polish church in the 1990s has been of a completely different character, that of preparing the Polish Catholic Church to face the challenges of democracy and liberalism. A task that is sorely misunderstood.
A popular view, disseminated by journalists who should know better, is that the Polish Catholic Church in the 1990s has been a threat to democracy and freedom through its stand on issues such as abortion. Adam Michnik, the left-wing editor of Poland's Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper, even made the famous statement that Poland faced the threat of "Khomeinization," in a reference to the Ayatollahs of Iran. The truth is that anyone accusing the church of conservatism suggests that a church should instead reflect the fads and fashions of the times - as indeed many churches do in the West.
The real question, however, is whether the Polish Catholic Church has sought to exert real political power in the political system. And here the answer is a firm "No." There is a distinction between political parties running on a platform that reflects church teaching, which voters are entitled to accept or reject, and attempts by the Catholic hierarchy to specifically interfere in day-to-day government decision making. Moreover, following its experiences in the 1993 parliamentary elections, when the church backed a right-wing group that failed miserably, there has been great caution even in favoring specific parties or politicians at election time.
With the upcoming visit of John Paul II, attention now turns to the message that Poles will be expecting to here. This time, the pope is not coming to a country that is struggling to emerge from communism, or even grappling with the problems of building a democracy and free market economy: those issues have largely been settled. Instead, Poland is becoming a country like many others in Western Europe, which as the millennium nears, face the challenges of maintaining human freedom and dignity in the face of the challenges of moral relativism and technological globalization, where there seems little room for fundamental principles and values. That discussion is one that cuts across party politics completely. The questions that will arise and the answers found in these discussions in Poland will define this nation in the years to come much more deeply than any day-to-day political debate.
Marek Matraszek is the Warsaw Director of CEC Government Relations. He can be e-mailed on director@cec.com.pl
