Poland
This figure-ground papercut shows the Polish eagle alternating with the Holy Ghost (tucked between the delightfully rural goats supporting the shields). This identification of the nation with Catholicism has deep historical roots.
Below is a list of the Polish agreements with either the Polish bishops or the Vatican which are translated here. By contrast, 14 other recognised religious denominations have agreements of lesser scope and legal status, generally a mere law (ustawa) with no international force.
• 1950 Modus vivendi (a foot in the door with the Communist regime, made with the Polish bishops)
• 1974 Protocol (to take up diplomatic relations with a regime the Vatican felt was there to stay)
• 1988 (unsigned) Convention (a draft concordat with the Communists which was quickly suppressed when the regime fell the following year, raising prospects of a better deal)
• 1991 Draft Concordat
• Papal signing authority for the following Concordat (7 July 1993)
• 1993 Concordat (a long-negotiated pact which gives the Vatican far more than the 1988 Draft Convention)
• 1998 Declaration by the Polish Government, an unsuccessful attempt to get some input in the form of a Supplementary Protocol to the Concordat, which the Vatican rejected
• 2007 Military chaplaincy agreement (a result of the concordat, but made with the Polish Bishops' Conference, not the Vatican)
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Getting a concordat by hook or by crook* |
It took years of planning, three papal visits and numerous legislative tricks, but in 1998 the Vatican finally managed to get the Polish concordat ratified. After that, a Declaration was attached to Poland's Accession Treaty to protect the concordat from EU human rights legislation. | |
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Catholicism as Poland's national religion |
Catholic Poland faces Orthodox lands to the east which don't recognise the pope. In 1717 Clement XI had his nuncio crown an icon of the Virgin as Poland's Queen. The Virgin was also made responsible for the military protection of Poland, with the official title of Hetmanka, Commander-in-chief. In 1981 John Paul II even assigned her statue a role in combatting communism. | |
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Secret dealings with “Satan”: How the Polish modus vivendi came about |
The 1950 Modus vivendi with the Soviet satellite of Poland was the first agreement between the Vatican and a Communist state. Never published in the official gazette, this pragmatic agreement was meant to grant secret concessions which set no precedent. | |
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Vatican version of the concordat negotiations |
In two short accounts Father Professor Wojciech Góralski and Bishop Alojzy Orszulik depict the process as the Vatican would have it seen: as if the concordat originated in Warsaw, not Rome. They give only passing mention of two key Vatican diplomats, the Cardinals Cesaroli and Silvestrini. | |
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The Church dominates the state |
Legal expert, Dr. Pawel Borecki, discusses frankly Vatican manoeuvres to get the Polish concordat through before the country's new constitution (which then had to conform to the concordat) and its contribution to the "further clericalisation of public life" in Poland. | |
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Church privileges in Poland |
This Complaint to the European Union shows how Polish laws favour the Church at the taxpayers' expense: in the way the laws are framed, in the way they're applied and in the way they're skilfully evaded. Its chances of success seem dubious in view of the politicial complexion of the Barroso Commission, but it contains information which is hard to find elsewhere. | |
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Chaplain leads parliamentary rainmaking |
By late July in 2006 there had been no rain for weeks and Poland was parched. This prompted the Law and Justice Party to seize the meteorological initiative. What happened next can be seen in the video. An English transcript is given at the end — but the laughter in the Polish Parliament needs no translation. | |
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The Polish Bishops' rules for leaving the Church |
The Polish Bishops claim to want to “standardise the interpretation of the [Vatican] guidelines”, but are actually erecting special barriers for Poles to leave the Universal Church. Most are nowhere to be found in the 2006 Vatican note to the bishops telling them in general terms to keep control of the process and not let it be handled by the state. Many of the restrictive Polish requirements would not likely be tolerated elsewhere. | |
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In Poland the cross is a secular symbol ― but for how long? |
From the Red-bellied Lemur to the Blue Wildebeest, territorial marking is used to claim exclusive ownership of territory instead of sharing it with others. Human groups do it, too. Secularism opposes this, in order to leave the public square open to all. But not in Warsaw's Piłsudski Square. However, a new cross set up on the grounds of the presidential palace in Warsaw, is provoking opposition. | |
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Finances | |
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Land and money for the Church while a quarter of Polish children go hungry |
The Polish Government can afford to subsidise Church influence in every corner of society, from chaplains throughout the civil service to holiday pay for the monks and nuns who teach religion in state schools. Yet it is unable to provide free school lunches for Polish children, a quarter of whom are malnourished. This is an itemised list of state subventions to the Church for 2008. | |
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The Property Commission scandal: Church land grab |
The Property Commission “compensates” the Catholic Church with land and money. For 16 years it accepted the valuation by the Church of the land it wanted back. Yet the often drastic undervaluation cannot be challenged in any Polish court. Only its constitutionality can be tested. This is in spite of a judgement of the European Court of Human Rights that the Polish Property Commission tramples on the right to a fair trial. | |
