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EN
Ecological issues have been present in the official social teaching of the Catholic Church for many years. It was in particular Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato si’, devoted to environmental issues, that brought forth a huge response worldwide. The primary aim of this study is to search for answers to the following questions: What is the attitude of Polish Catholicism to the social teaching of the Catholic Church with regard to ecology? What is the extent of the awareness of the ecological crisis? What causes are indicated and what proposals for change are formulated? Are representatives of contemporary Polish Catholicism unanimous in their statements referring to ecology or can significant differences between them be indicated? The analysis was conducted on statements made by representatives of contemporary Polish Catholicism and found in documents of the institutional Church and in official public utterances. An important subject of research was also the analysis of publications referring to ecological issues in influential Catholic magazines, i.e. Niedziela, Gość Niedzielny Przewodnik Katolicki, Tygodnik Powszechny and Więź i Znak. Based on the statements analysed, it can be concluded that ecological issues are treated with great attention. The majority of the opinions published agree that ecological threats are extremely important and require a reaction; however, there are still some representatives of Polish Catholicism that approach these issues with some reservations and a great deal of caution, especially with regard to statements and actions instigated by eco-activists. Some differences can also be seen in the context of the main causes of the environmental crisis and the choice of methods and tools for changing the situation as indicated in the statements. When reporting on the social teaching of the Catholic Church concerning ecological issues, other components of this teaching are often emphasized and given various interpretations. These differences are visible both in the context of statements made by representatives of the institutional Church and in the comments and opinions published in the above-mentioned magazines.
EN
The subject of the analysis was the reception of liberalism in selected Polish Catho-lic newspapers – chosen in the context of frequently discussed differences between Polish Catholic communities. After 1989, liberalism was treated as a threat in certain Catholic communities. However, it may be assumed that the criticism concerned the liberalism understood in its stereotypical form. Liberalism was frequently and deeply criticised in “Niedziela” and “Gość Niedzielny.” It was associated with all the imperfec-tion and evil of the contemporary world. The Catholic community related to, among others, “Tygodnik Powszechny” attempted to conduct a dialogue with representative liberal thinkers, frequently emphasising the positive aspects of the most significant liber-al principles. The analysis of contemporary Polish Catholic press confirms the fact that the disputes depicted in the previous decade are still valid. Moreover, it might even be concluded that the rhetoric has sharpened and the boundaries demarcating the Catholic communities in their attitudes to liberalism have become more pronounced.
EN
The main subject of the analysis was the activity and political concepts of lay Cath-olics who operated on the Polish political scene in the 1980s. This group of Catholic activists had been active in the public sphere for many years; in the 1980s, they orga-nized themselves in a Polish Catholic-Social Union. This community was not among the most important political parties of the then political system; it was not a major factor stabilizing the system or a major source of change. Nevertheless, it did have a prominent feature – it had a parliamentary representation and participated in political practice; it also had a limited impact on political decisions. The main motive of their actions was to promote Catholic values in the public sphere, but also an attempt to create a Catholic party, in the right circumstances. Still, there is a disagreement, both among researchers and actors of the political scene of the time, about the clear-cut assessment of their politi-cal commitment. Nonetheless, it probably can be said that their attitudes are within the concept of semi-opposition and paralegal opposition, and, to some extent, in what we understand by the term of opposition of value systems.
EN
The common good is one of the most important contexts in social and humanistic sciences and also incredibly difficult ones to undoubtedly define. Throughout many centuries, the meaning of this concept has been filled with different definitions. It is also one of the most important concepts to be defined in the Catholic social teachings. Following the Catholic social thought, it also inspires the Catholic secular communities, which are trying to give it a specific meaning in a given socio-political reality. The aim of the article is to explain how the Catholic communities in Poland are defining the meaning of this concept, how different they are in their description, and if their description is compliant with the directions of the Catholic Church. It can be said, all Catholic communities in Poland agree in this, that the notion of common good is one of the most important ones in the life of societies. All Catholic streams indicate that the citizens should be mobilized to define and complete the goals of the community, they also encourage Catholics to actively participate in the public life for the sake of the common good. All the streams underline that the most important goal of the existence of political rule should be to take steps to „take wise care of the common good”. What they are different in, though, is the perception of the gist of this good, and especially the way of its identification. The „open” stream of Catholicism, the dominant approach towards common good is the constructivist one. In the Catholic stream generally called „closed” the common good is described in the absolutistic approach. The understanding of the common good by the Catholic communities in Poland, though not diametrically different, indicates that there is a difference between these communities, and also adds new threads to its characteristic.
EN
The article analyzes the strategy of the activities of one on the most important Catholic groupings that functioned on the Polish political stage in the 1980s. In that time, Catholics had two options to choose from. The first option meant locking themselves from the existing social and political reality, withdrawing from the political activity and focusing on the formation work. The second was to recognize the existing social and political reality and to try to actively adjust to it. The activists of the Polish Catholic-Social Union decided to choose the second option – the adjustment. They represented Catholic circles which, although independent to some extent, were – with different intensity and in different forms – controlled by the party and the state authorities who gave their consent to creation of the union. Summing up the advantages and disadvantages of the strategy of active engagement undertaken by the Polish Catholic-Social Union in the 1980s, the participants of these events highlight that the strategy of, as they describe it themselves, “nurturing the authorities’ hope of subordination” led to a situation in which the authorities “in advance” allowed to systematically build a Catholic and social movement in Poland. As their success the members of the union note that from a small group of activists they evolved into a nationwide movement. On the other hand, it needs to be pointed out that the then authorities had a convenient argument that Catholics are allowed on the political stage. Moreover, the activities of the Polish Catholic-Social Union almost never crossed the limits that were set and allowed by the authorities.
EN
The main object of the analysis was to answer whether contemporary Poland faces a crisis of authority. The notion is considered in two dimensions: authority of power and power of authority. It needs to be determined whether we are experiencing a deep reformulation of the very idea of authority, its meaning and function. Another key issue analyzed was whether role models are still needed and if Poles still need them in a democratic system. On the basis of available research it is possible to conclude that in fact role models are still of importance or even much desired in times of crisis. It is also worth mentioning that the authority of truth and role models of science and its practitioners are particularly worth preserving. The correlation between the level of education and the level of trust, willingness to cooperate and the need for authority is present in numerous studies. The conclusion appears to be obvious: if there is an area, in which the need for revival of authority and the master-apprentice relation is particularly dire, that area would be the authority of truth, knowledge and education.
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