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A question about the Polish Catholic Church

…at Roman Catholic Resources. I posted a comment which reflects what I’ve written below. I think the writer is asking (?) whether the PCC believes in “papal infallibility.” My response (extended and revised):

The Polish Catholic Church (Kościół Polskokatolicki) is a member of the Union of Utrecht, but has very little in common with what remains of the Union. A little history:

The Union of Utrecht was formed after Vatican I in response to the “dogmas” of papal infallibility and the immaculate conception. The Union desired to stick with the Church’s common dogmas as established prior to 1074. At the time of its organization it primarily consisted of Churches in the Netherlands and Germany.

The PNCC was organized in the United States. The Rev. Francis Hodur was elected Bishop and was consecrated in 1907 by Archbishop Gerard Gul of Utrecht, Bishop John Van Thiel of Haarlem, and Bishop Peter Spit of Deventer, the Old Catholic Bishops of the Netherlands thus becoming a member of the Union of Utrecht. In approx. 1920 the PNCC sent a mission to the old country and attempted to establish parishes there. There was some success particularly in northern Poland.

Like the Orthodox we all see the Papal office as a man-made office established for the good order of the Church; not a Divinely instituted office ordained with special powers and privileges onto itself.

The Church in Poland was somewhat prosecuted by Roman Catholics as was the PNCC in the United States. During WWII the Polish Church’s bishop, as well as its priests, were arrested and imprisoned by the Nazi Germans. Its bishop, Jozef Padewski was released in a prisoner exchange and returned to the United States until after the war. On his return to Poland he was arrested by the communists, was tortured, and was martyred for the faith. The communist authorities in Poland then forced the Polish Church to break its ties with the PNCC and to independently establish itself (in other words PNCC and PCC were made administratively separate).

To this day the PNCC and the Polish Catholic Church consider themselves sister Churches but remain administratively separate.

While the Polish Catholic Church remains a member of the Union of Utrecht, the PNCC broke its ties with the Union in 2003 over the Union’s liberal innovations (“womanpriests” and gay “marriages”). The PNCC had previously broken its intercommunion with the Episcopal Church over the issue of women’s “ordinations” in 1978. The PNCC was the largest Church in the Union. What remains of the Union, excepting the Church in Poland, is rather small and insignificant. In my opinion it will eventually become a rump organization absorbed into the Anglican or Episcopal Church. Sadly, once a Church with close ties to Orthodoxy, it has become just another “church of what’s-happenin’-now,” another Protestant body with fancy externals.

As noted, the Polish Catholic Church remains a member of the Union of Utrecht even though it rejects women’s “ordination” and gay “marriages.” How long that union lasts remains to be seen.

A side note, there is a group in Poland that calls itself the “Polish National Catholic Church in Poland” (PNKK). Don’t be fooled. It is a group of deposed clergy and vagantes. It has nothing to do with the PNCC or the PCC.

Perspective, PNCC, ,

Possibilities, not so much

From the Catholic Answers Forum: Anglican Church in America (TAC) and the Polish National Catholic Church

I wonder with all of the struggle of the TAC/ACA to move towards union with Rome (and the constant expectation of an announcement…over and over), why they do not look towards forming an alliance with the Polish National Catholic Church?

The PNCC has valid orders (according to Rome) and has limited intercommunion. They are seen in a way similar to the Eastern Orthodox in that in extraordinary circumstances the PNCC and Catholics can receive sacraments from one another.

This makes sense until you scratch the surface a little.

Those in the TAC/ACA who long for Rome are really singleminded in that regard. They see no possible alternative, and if they did, they would have been there already. They are actually willing to give up their Episcopal Orders, their former Roman priests who had married, and anyone else in an “unclear” situation, casting them under the bus so to speak; sort of Machiavellian, which is ironic.

Others, who will quit the Church when it joins with Rome, are really Protestants. They like Catholic externals but don’t really believe in the infallibility of the ChurchIt’s one thing to believe that the person of the Bishop of Rome is not infallible, quite another to believe the Church is not infallible.. Not believing in the infallibility of the Church makes these folks a bad fit in any Catholic Church whether it be Oriental, Orthodox, Roman, or PNCC. They are headed for some far corner of the Anglican movement where they can maintain their ‘I’m smarter than the Church’ attitude.

I also think that marriages for the sake of convenience are a bad idea. Why partner with someone if they’re constantly looking over their shoulder for what they perceive to be a more handsome/beautiful/whatever prospect. Could the TAC/ACA accept the Declaration of Scranton in clear conscience? Could they be PNCC? I highly doubt it.

Speaking with Rome doesn’t mean you are at the place ACA/TAC perceived themselves to be, signing copies of the Catechism and FedEx’ing them off to Rome and praying for Newman to descend upon you. I’m sure there’s a few in the PNCC who long for unity with Rome just as there are those like myself who long for unity with Orthodoxy. But no matter. In the bigger picture we’re just PNCC and most of us are happy to work in that part of God’s field. To waste our time waiting, or courting for the purpose of courting, would be an affront to the gifts God has granted us and the work He has asked us to do.

Christian Witness, Poetry

More on St. John’s – Toronto

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. — 2 Corinthians 5:18-20

With great joy and thanks to Almighty God for the gift of reconciliation I report the following per the minutes of the Supreme Council as published in God’s Field on June 16, 2009 (Vol. 87, Issue 12) and June 30, 2009 (Vol. 87, Issue 13),

St. John’s Cathedral Parish voluntarily rejoined the PNCC. The Rt. Rev. Sylvester Bigaj, Ordinary of the Canadian Diocese, celebrated the first Holy Mass in the Cathedral on Easter Sunday 2009. Bishop Bigaj accepted the Rev. Zbignew Kozar’s application for readmission as a priest of the Holy Polish National Catholic Church. Fr. Kozar will remain as Rector of the Cathedral.

The Parish wrote to the Prime Bishop and the Supreme Council expressing their joy in re-entering the PNCC. The Parish presented a gift to each member of the Supreme Council, a copy of Curry Is Thicker Than Water, authored by Jasmine Anita Yvette D’costa, a parishioner at St. John’s.

Christian Witness, Perspective, ,

Where hope is found

Eminem’s new video draws parallels between his career and the economic state of his hometown, Detroit.

Having grown up in a declining rust belt city I see the parallels. The struggle is to continuously recognize your inner beauty and that of your neighbor in the midst of decay, neglect, and abuse. Faith is that lifeline. The call of our Lord and Savior breaks through the walls and the depression. He tells you that beauty does exist — right there in your humanity and that of your neighbor.

Christian Witness, , , , , , ,

The theological economist

The Bishop of Rome issued his encyclical Caritas in veritate (Charity in Truth) on the subject of Christian teaching on economics. The Rev. Thomas J. Reese, S.J. comments on it in the Washington Post. A few excerpts here:

“Profit is useful if it serves as a means towards an end,” he writes in Caritas in veritate (Charity in Truth), but “once profit becomes the exclusive goal, if it is produced by improper means and without the common good as its ultimate end, it risks destroying wealth and creating poverty.”

He decries that “Corruption and illegality are unfortunately evident in the conduct of the economic and political class in rich countries…as well as in poor ones.” He also says that “Financiers must rediscover the genuinely ethical foundation of their activity, so as not to abuse the sophisticated instruments which can serve to betray the interests of savers.”

…Benedict disappointedly acknowledges that “The world’s wealth is growing in absolute terms, but inequalities are on the increase” [italics in text].

“The dignity of the individual and the demands of justice require,” he affirms, “that economic choices do not cause disparities in wealth to increase in an excessive and morally unacceptable manner, and that we continue to prioritize the goal of access to steady employment for everyone.”

In his encyclical, Benedict calls for charity guided by truth. “Charity demands justice: recognition and respect for the legitimate rights of individuals and peoples,” he says. “Justice must be applied to every phase of economic activity, because this is always concerned with man and his needs,” he writes. “Locating resources, financing, production, consumption and all the other phases in the economic cycle inevitably have moral implications. Thus every economic decision has a moral consequence.”

The encyclical notes the globalization that has taken place since Paul’s encyclical was issued over 40 years ago. Alas, “as society becomes ever more globalized, it makes us neighbors but does not make us brothers.” True “development of peoples depends, above all, on a recognition that the human race is a single family working together in true communion, not simply a group of subjects who happen to live side by side.” The goal of such development is “rescuing peoples, first and foremost, from hunger, deprivation, endemic diseases and illiteracy.”

Sounding like a union organizer, Benedict argues that “Lowering the level of protection accorded to the rights of workers, or abandoning mechanisms of wealth redistribution in order to increase the country’s international competitiveness, hinder the achievement of lasting development.”

Rather the goal should be decent employment for everyone, which “means work that expresses the essential dignity of every man and woman in the context of their particular society: work that is freely chosen, effectively associating workers, both men and women, with the development of their community; work that enables the worker to be respected and free from any form of discrimination; work that makes it possible for families to meet their needs and provide schooling for their children, without the children themselves being forced into labor; work that permits the workers to organize themselves freely, and to make their voices heard; work that leaves enough room for rediscovering one’s roots at a personal, familial and spiritual level; work that guarantees those who have retired a decent standard of living.”

…

While Benedict acknowledges the role of the market, he emphasizes that “the social doctrine of the Church has unceasingly highlighted the importance of distributive justice and social justice for the market economy.” He unflinchingly supports the “redistribution of wealth” when he talks about the role of government. “Grave imbalances are produced,” he writes, “when economic action, conceived merely as an engine for wealth creation, is detached from political action, conceived as a means for pursuing justice through redistribution.”

Although Benedict’s emphasis in the encyclical is on the theological foundations of Catholic social teaching, amid the dense prose there are indications, as shown above, that he is to the left of almost every politician in America. What politician would casually refer to “redistribution of wealth” or talk of international governing bodies to regulate the economy? Who would call for increasing the percentage of GDP devoted to foreign aid? Who would call for the adoption of “new life-styles ‘in which the quest for truth, beauty, goodness and communion with others for the sake of common growth are the factors which determine consumer choices, savings and investments'”?

Benedict believes that if people understood God’s love for every single human person and his divine plan for us, then believers would recognize their duty “to unite their efforts with those of all men and women of good will, with the followers of other religions and with non-believers, so that this world of ours may effectively correspond to the divine plan: living as a family under the Creator’s watchful eye.”

I say Amen! amen! It will be interesting to watch as Roman Catholic and other Christian business people and political leaders dance their way around this, or more likely choose to ignore it. The reaction will be much the same as that of Roman Catholics and other Christians who ignored, countermanded, or attempted to out theologize and teach John Paul II on the Iraq war.

Perspective, ,

Roman Catholic numbers

From The Deacon’s Bench: 68.1 million, and counting… with my commentary interspersed.

The 2009 Official [Roman] Catholic Directory is out, and the numbers are in:

The number of patients served in Catholic hospitals and the number of clients assisted by Catholic charitable agencies went up. Fewer baptisms, first Communions, confirmations and marriages were performed in Catholic churches last year. The number of Catholic parishes and elementary schools in the U.S. continues to decline.

How To Lie With StatisticsWhile numbers are great, and I work with statistics and reports all day, you have to really understand what they mean before you can give them any credence.

The Directory speaks of Catholic hospitals and charitable organizations as if they are — Catholic. For the most part they are no longer so. Vasectomies, a tubal ligation — as available in a Catholic hospital as in any other — as well as other “services” that would fail to meet the standards of Catholic teaching. The hospitals play a game of “separating” sections of hospitals into Catholic and non-Catholic floors, or areas, as if this somehow justifies everything.

In the same way, institutes of Catholic charity have become less and less Catholic at the behest of government and large donors, who hold the purse.

Of course the Catholic hospital and charitable organization is a construct carried forward from the days where sisters, brothers, and a few lay people worked in these institutions, dispensing Christian charity. In our minds we see old films with sister and the priest bedside in the hospital. All very quaint, all from a better time. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. These organizations are completely tied to government and big donor funding; and he who pays the bill calls the tune — a tune distinctly non-Catholic.

By the way, that loss of dedication to ethics as outlined by the Roman Church plays out in the faithful. The contraceptive mentality and adherence to secular norms is chiefly responsible for “Fewer baptisms, first Communions, confirmations and marriages.”

The totals for priests, permanent deacons and diocesan seminarians each experienced a small increase in the 2009 book. There were more students in Catholic colleges and universities; in private, Catholic-run high schools and elementary schools; and in high school religious education programs.

A good sign in terms of vocations. Again, as to colleges and universities, I would venture to say that there is not even one, of any renown, left that is truly Catholic (Steubenville folks – you’re not on par with the big boys). The recent Notre Dame scandal is just one example (see here, here, and here for others). Universities gave up their Catholic character long ago.

And at 68.1 million, an increase of nearly 1 million over the 2008 directory, Catholics continue to make up 22 percent of the U.S. population.

Which seems odd in light of the statement in the first paragraph regarding the decrease in Roman Catholic parishes. If there are these many more people where are they going to church? The point is that while there are more people who self-identify as Roman Catholic, and go through the ritual of joining, the pews in many parishes are empty. The parishes that are full are more likely suburban and affluent — places where minorities don’t fit and can’t get to on a Sunday. See Church attendance studies by Hadaway, Marler, and Chaves at How many North Americans attend religious services (and how many lie about going)? from Religious Tolerance:

Hadaway, Marler, and Mark Chaves counted the number of people attending four Protestant churches in Ashtabula County, OH, and in 18 Roman Catholic dioceses throughout the U.S. In their 1993 report they stated that actual attendance was only about half of the level reported in public opinion surveys: 20% vs. 40% for Protestants, and 28% vs. 50% for Roman Catholics.

They later returned to Ashtabula County to measure attendance by Roman Catholics. They physically counted the number of attendees at each mass over several months. They concluded that 24% of Catholics in the county actually attended mass. They then polled residents of the county by telephone. 51% of Roman Catholic respondents said that they had attended church during the previous week. Apparently, most were lying.

The post goes on to say:

The more than 2,100-page Official Catholic Directory, also known as the Kenedy directory after its New Jersey publishers’ imprint, P.J. Kenedy and Sons, is due out June 17. Catholic News Service obtained an advance copy of the statistical summary compiled from annual reports provided by the nation’s 209 [Roman Catholic] dioceses and archdioceses…

The numbers reported are interesting but, the value of the numbers is compromised when they do not truly represent allegiance to the both the letter and the spirit of what it means to be Roman Catholic among all the elements in the report. Certainly, the number of parishes, clergy, and religious represents the face of committed Catholics. The number of followers, and the extent of conformity among hospitals, charities, colleges, and universities may not be accurately represented. Adherence to the call of faith is more than numbers, or as Jesus said (John 4:23-24):

“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him.
God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Perspective, PNCC

A first?

From The Northwestern: Judy Russell: Emmaus ordination called a ‘first’ for Oshkosh

For what is called the first in Oshkosh history, a married person will be ordained a “Catholic Presbyter,” to serve the new Emmaus Ecumenical Catholic Community.

Thomas Altepeter, pastor of Emmaus, will be ordained to the priesthood at 6 p.m. Friday at First Congregational Church, according to information from the Christian community and Stan Kline, chairman of the Emmaus Steering Committee. Altepeter will be ordained by Bishop Peter Hickman, presiding bishop of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion. Also present will be Rev. Frank Krebs, vicar for the Midwest region of the ECC; and George von Stamwitz, ECC chancellor. The ordination ceremony is open to all.

…

“There are many ways to express the Catholic faith, some which are not in full communion with Rome,” Altepeter said. “The ECC and the Polish National Catholic Church are two examples. As a member of the ECC, Emmaus shares common theology, sacramental and liturgical traditions with the Roman Catholic Church. Our deacons, priests and bishops participate in the same historic apostolic succession as do those of the Roman Catholic Church.”

This is the second recent article where the PNCC has been mentioned by folks who report on or are part of the ECC. It should be noted that while the ECC calls itself Catholic what it is is no more than another congregation ‘affirming’ whatever its members want to do.

Gregory Holmes Singleton writes on the Church’s website:

…if we are to honor our diversity there are Catholic perspectives and not a singular Catholic perspective. That is true whether we are talking about the Church Catholic writ large, the Ecumenical Catholic Communion, or a given congregation. Lest anyone think that the plurality of perspectives indicates that —anything goes,—

The unique part of Catholicism is an agreement on core issues, and the fact the the Church is indeed open to all who wish to come and pray (the real definition of diversity). The Churches that are Catholic agree that core issues are infallibly defined dogmas (by the Church, not just one bishop), Liturgy, and Tradition. Those things are not changeable in their essence. We cannot have ‘alternate marriages’ or women priests any more than we can use beer and pretzels for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (which discussion we had in my R.C. seminary days focused on exploring the differences between things that are licit vs. valid). We cannot have a liturgy that consists of banjo picking and hymn singing alone. We cannot say that Jesus was just a fun guy who faced down evil rulers.

No first here. The ECC is yet another anything goes Protestant denomination catering to the whims and desires of its flock. They define dogma as whatever may go at the moment.

The ECC appears to be headed by a former American Baptist pastor who somehow obtained “orders” through the Mathew line. They seem to have a strong tie to CORPUS.

Fair warning: although they seem to relish grouping themselves with the PNCC don’t be fooled, there is no relationship there. PNCC parishes in Wisconsin are listed here.

On the issue raised above regarding married (male) clergy, not something infallible, merely a discipline in Catholic Churches. Having married and celibate clergy vs. primarily celibate clergy doesn’t make one Catholic. Adhering to defined, infallible dogma and Tradition does.

Christian Witness, Perspective, PNCC, , , ,

The ecumenical Dutch Touch that leads to unity

Fr. Robert Hart of the Continuum Blog has an interesting article on the “Dutch Touch” and Anglican Orders. In The Dutch Touch: A study in irrelevance he says:

Frankly, Saepius Officio, written in 1897 by the Archbishops of England (Canterbury and York) said everything that needed to be said in defense of our Orders, and the best summary anywhere is that of Bicknell.

As for the subject of the Infusion itself, it is a relic of an innocent age of ecumenical hope, that innocence and hope that would suffer destruction for the official Anglican Communion in 1976. If the Infusion may help someday between orthodox Anglicans of the Continuum and Rome or, restart some ecumenical relations with the Polish National Catholic Church, then maybe it will not have been a big wasted effort after all.

Until such a time, who cares?

Two observations: First, I think that ecumenical contact between orthodox Anglicans and the PNCC would be a fine thing. We offer the Declaration of Scranton as a point of unity between national churches, and as a structural building block in accord with the National Church philosophy expounded by Bishop Hodur.

The interesting thing about the word continuum is that it means a connection that surpasses the here and now. At core it is a continuation of a Church’s traditions, practices, and character (of course only important if they are Catholic in character and in fact). I have said before, including to local clergy of the TAC, swimming the Tiber will eventually lead to the dissolution of everything that you are. Simply put, the weight of the Roman Church will subsume the TAC and any other Continuum Church that joins it, just as Anglican Use parishes will disappear within two generations.

I also think that there is another issue that gets lost in the whole swimming the Tiber spirit within the TAC, “Is that what your people really want? Just as among clergy some will say yes, but I believe that a majority will see what I see, that ‘who they are’ will slip away.

My second observation, and I congratulate Fr. Hart for making the point, is “who cares.” That is really the point if your Church believes itself to be Catholic. Like the Orthodox Churches we need to place less emphasis on what Rome thinks of us and more on what we think of ourselves (and no emphasis on what some over-the-top on-line R.C. pundits and detractors think of us). The full body of Catholic Churches are, in their varied external manifestations (those whose ecclesiology, polity, and praxis are Catholic), the totality of the Church, which is truly universal.

Christian Witness, Fathers, Poetry, ,

June 7 – The Athanasian Creed by St. Athanasius of Alexandria

Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith. Which Faith except everyone does keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the Catholic Faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance.

For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one, the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal.

Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Ghost uncreated. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible,and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible.

The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet they are not three eternals, but one Eternal.

As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor three uncreated, but one Uncreated, and one Incomprehensible. So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet they are not three almighties, but one Almighty.

So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three gods, but one God.

So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three lords, but one Lord.

For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge each Person by Himself to be both God and Lord, so are we forbidden by the catholic religion to say that there are three gods or three lords.

The Father is made of none, neither created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone, not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father, neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.

So there is one Father, not three fathers; one Son, not three sons; one Holy Ghost, not three holy ghosts.

And in this Trinity none is before or after another; none is greater or less than another; but all three Persons are co-eternal together and co-equal. So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.

He therefore that will be saved must think thus of the Trinity.

Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe rightly the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess, that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man; God, of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and man, of the substance of his mother, born in the world; perfect God and perfect man, of a rational soul and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father, as touching his godhead; and inferior to the Father, as touching His manhood; who although He is God and man, yet he is not two, but one Christ; one, not by conversion of the godhead into flesh, but by taking of the manhood into God; one altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person. For as the rational soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ; who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven, He sits on the right hand of the Father, God Almighty, from whence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. At His coming all men will rise again with their bodies and shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil into everlasting fire.

This is the Catholic Faith, which except a man believe faithfully, he cannot be saved.

Perspective, PNCC, Poland - Polish - Polonia, Political, , , , ,

Pounding the pulpit for the Polish vote

From the DAWN Media Group: Poland’s Roman Catholic Church urges followers to vote

WARSAW: Poland’s powerful Roman Catholic Church is urging it’s huge flock in the country to use the European Parliament election this week to pick lawmakers who reflect church values.

More than 90 percent of Poles are Catholic and Polish bishops recently called on ‘all faithful to choose people in the elections who fully represent the point of view of the Church regarding ethical and social questions, in particular the protection of human life, marriage and the family.’

‘In this way, each one of us can contribute to the renewal of the Christian face and culture of Europe,’ the top clergy said, highlighting their opposition to abortion, in vitro fertilisation, euthanasia and gay marriage.

‘Obviously the church thinks it is it’s obligation to take a position in the debate,’ sociologist Jacek Kucharczyk from the independent Institute of Public Affairs (ISP) think tank in Warsaw told AFP.

‘Nevertheless, many Poles who define themselves as Catholics do not accept the church’s involvement in politics,’ he added. ‘They don’t like to have priests indicate candidates that a Catholic should support.’ During Poland’s 2001 parliamentary elections, Poles voted en masse for the leftist ex-communist party and for ex-communist Aleksander Kwasniewski as president in 1995, instead of Poland’s Solidarity union legend Lech Walesa, a devout Catholic. Kwasniewski won a second term in 2000…

This is why the Roman Church in Poland is loosing adherents, most particularly among the young. Prof. Zdislaw Mach, Director of the Centre for European Studies, Jagiellonian University, concludes in The Roman Catholic Church in Poland and the Dynamics of Social Identity in Polish Society:

To sum up, it seems that the Roman Catholic Church finds it difficult to respond to new challenges which arise from the development of democracy in eastern Europe and of the desire of those countries to join European institutions. The Church still uses the discourse of conflict, inherited after communist times, when the Church built its unique position, at least in the Catholic countries like Poland. Moral monopoly and direct influence on the state and the law are still its main aims. The pluralistic model is not particularly popular among the Church representatives and, consequently, the result of their activities is creation of boundaries dividing the society along religious lines. On the other hand the Church is very slow in reforming itself in such a way that would be more flexible and better adapted to the rules of the market and ideological competition. Consequently the Church is loosing its popular support and its influence, and often relies on the old methods of ideological polarisation and the discourse of conflict to win its cause.

Among my friends and acquaintances in Poland, this rings true. Their children have no attachment to the Church. They see the Church as a force organized for the purpose of political gain. What they truly seek is an enrichment of the inner life of the soul, from which the fruitful decisions the Church advocates for will come. But that’s a long process, the building of a society from within. It seems easier to pound the pulpit and demand the vote under penalty of hell. Just the sort of thing Fr. Hodur and the Catholics of Scranton rallied against in 1897.

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