Poland’s Catholic primate has accused the nation’s government of pandering to anti-Church feeling, after it unveiled new plans to downgrade religious teaching in the traditionally Catholic country. Source: OSV News.
“Our education law stipulates a Church-state agreement is needed for such changes — but the minister responsible thinks it’s enough to hold a consultation and then just take her own decision,” said Archbishop Wojciech Polak of Gniezno.
“Our offers of dialogue and compromise haven’t been listened to, and this is why we feel we’re being dictated to — by politicians seeking to boost their popularity with left-wing sections of society who wish to exclude the Church from public life,” he told OSV News.
The archbishop was reacting to an Education Ministry directive halving the time allotted to religious lessons from the new school year starting in September.
Archbishop Polak said the directive was the latest reflecting of a “lack of goodwill” toward the Church, and would affront the rights of parents and interests of students.
“To claim religion takes time from other subjects is offensive – proper upbringing isn’t just confined to technical aspects of life, but has to include values,” Archbishop Polak said.
“No one is demanding everyone participate in these classes, and we know they require continual attention. But other European countries include religious teaching in their school programs – you can’t just relegate it in this unjust and harmful way.”
Religious classes were reintroduced to state schools after the 1989 collapse of communist rule, and are currently taught by 30,000 full-time catechists.
However, planned restrictions were announced in early 2024 by Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s new coalition government, alongside a liberalisation of abortion and same-sex partnerships and other reforms.
In August, a previous government directive restricting classes was suspended by Poland’s Constitutional Court after an appeal by the Catholic Church and other religious denominations.
However, in her new directive, published January 17, Education Minister Barbara Nowacka ordered classes on religion and ethics, already voluntary, to be halved to one hour weekly and placed outside compulsory school time, with exceptions only for primary schools where all pupils were signed up by their parents.
FULL STORY
Poland’s Church voices outrage over reduced religious instruction in schools (By Jonathan Luxmoore, OSV News)
