During the 1920s the first Polish Catholic Press Agency (KAP) was established in Warsaw. The agency was founded in 1927 by Bishop’s Conference of Poland. It had an extended correspondent network in various Polish dioceses and in the world. Obviously, it was impossible for the agency to continue its activity during the time of communist government. There are no monographic academic publications about KAP, thus its history and significance for the Polish culture is hardly known. On the basis of archival material and published dispatches the author of this article describes the creation and activity of KAP during the first two years of its existence under rev. J. Gawlina’s direction. The analysis of sources allows to say that the first Polish Catholic Press Agency owes a lot to rev. J. Gawlina, his diligence and talent. He put KAP on the press market and made it compete with the government agency. It is widely believed that from the beginning the KAP became a modern informative forum about the Church, nonetheless sometimes giving rise to controversy, yet, at the same time, winning recognition.According to the scientific research, KAP was a significant source of information about the Church. Foreign patterns of work, background reports written by professionals, cooperation with international correspondents and agencies, employing correspondents from the local area and offering them professional training, made the activity of the agency very valuable. KAP allowed Polish users to get news from abroad. Thanks to dispatches in both Polish and foreign press, religious life in Poland was mentioned. KAP also had a significant influence on how Poland was perceived both internationally and by the Holy See.
PL
W latach 20. XX wieku w Warszawie rozpoczęła działalność Katolicka Agencja Prasowa (KAP). Należała do agencji ogólnoinformacyjnych, miała korespondentów w Polsce i na świecie, pełniła funkcje informacyjne wobec prasy polskiej i zagranicznej. Z wiadomych względów nie było możliwe jej wskrzeszenie w czasach rządów komunistycznych. Działalność KAP nie doczekała się monograficznych publikacji naukowych, a jej historia i znaczenie dla polskiej kultury pozostaje tematem słabo poznanym. Autor artykułu na podstawie materiałów archiwalnych oraz opublikowanych przez agencję depesz opisuje powstanie agencji i jej działalność w dwóch pierwszych latach istnienia, kiedy jej kierownikiem był ks. Józef Gawlina. Analiza źródeł pozwala stwierdzić, że pierwsza polska agencja prasowa o profilu katolickim zawdzięcza swoją ofertę informacyjną ks. Gawlinie, jego pracowitości i talentowi. Dzięki niemu KAP skutecznie weszła na rynek prasowy i konkurowała z agencją państwową. Wydaje się uzasadnione twierdzenie, że już w pierwszych latach istnienia stała się nowoczesnym forum informacji o Kościele, budzącym nieraz kontrowersje, ale zasługującym na uznanie. Jak wynika z materiału badawczego, KAP stanowiła cenne źródło informacji o Kościele. Wpłynęły na to takie przesłanki, jak: struktura pracy oparta na zagranicznych wzorcach, współpraca z zagranicznymi korespondentami i agencjami, tworzenie sieci korespondentów w lokalnych środowiskach kościelnych i szkolenie ich do pracy zgodnej ze standardami pracy dziennikarskiej, zapewnienie w serwisie komentarzy (backgroundu) pisanych przez znawców problematyki kościelnej. KAP pozwalała polskiemu odbiorcy zapoznać się z informacjami z życia Kościoła za granicą, a dzięki publikowanym przez agencję depeszom w krajowej i zagranicznej prasie pojawiły się liczne informacje o polskim życiu religijnym. Nie bez znaczenia pozostaje też wpływ KAP na obraz Polski na arenie międzynarodowej i w Stolicy Apostolskiej.
W latach 20. XX wieku w Warszawie rozpoczęła działalność Katolicka Agencja Prasowa (KAP). Należała do agencji ogólnoinformacyjnych, miała korespondentów w Polsce i na świecie, pełniła funkcje informacyjne wobec prasy polskiej i zagranicznej. Z wiadomych względów nie było możliwe jej wskrzeszenie w czasach rządów komunistycznych. Działalność KAP nie doczekała się monograficznych publikacji naukowych, a jej historia i znaczenie dla polskiej kultury pozostaje tematem słabo poznanym. Autor artykułu na podstawie materiałów archiwalnych oraz opublikowanych przez agencję depesz opisuje powstanie agencji i jej działalność w dwóch pierwszych latach istnienia, kiedy jej kierownikiem był ks. Józef Gawlina. Analiza źródeł pozwala stwierdzić, że pierwsza polska agencja prasowa o profilu katolickim zawdzięcza swoją ofertę informacyjną ks. Gawlinie, jego pracowitości i talentowi. Dzięki niemu KAP skutecznie weszła na rynek prasowy i konkurowała z agencją państwową. Wydaje się uzasadnione twierdzenie, że już w pierwszych latach istnienia stała się nowoczesnym forum informacji o Kościele, budzącym nieraz kontrowersje, ale zasługującym na uznanie. Jak wynika z materiału badawczego, KAP stanowiła cenne źródło informacji o Kościele. Wpłynęły na to takie przesłanki, jak: struktura pracy oparta na zagranicznych wzorcach, współpraca z zagranicznymi korespondentami i agencjami, tworzenie sieci korespondentów w lokalnych środowiskach kościelnych i szkolenie ich do pracy zgodnej ze standardami pracy dziennikarskiej, zapewnienie w serwisie komentarzy (backgroundu) pisanych przez znawców problematyki kościelnej. KAP pozwalała polskiemu odbiorcy zapoznać się z informacjami z życia Kościoła za granicą, a dzięki publikowanym przez agencję depeszom w krajowej i zagranicznej prasie pojawiły się liczne informacje o polskim życiu religijnym. Nie bez znaczenia pozostaje też wpływ KAP na obraz Polski na arenie międzynarodowej i w Stolicy Apostolskiej.
EN
During the 1920s the first Polish Catholic Press Agency (KAP) was established in Warsaw. The agency was founded in 1927 by Bishop’s Conference of Poland. It had an extended correspondent network in various Polish dioceses and in the world. Obviously, it was impossible for the agency to continue its activity during the time of communist government. There are no monographic academic publications about KAP, thus its history and significance for the Polish culture is hardly known. On the basis of archival material and published dispatches the author of this article describes the creation and activity of KAP during the first two years of its existence under rev. J. Gawlina’s direction. The analysis of sources allows to say that the first Polish Catholic Press Agency owes a lot to rev. J. Gawlina, his diligence and talent. He put KAP on the press market and made it compete with the government agency. It is widely believed that from the beginning the KAP became a modern informative forum about the Church, nonetheless sometimes giving rise to controversy, yet, at the same time, winning recognition. According to the scientific research, KAP was a significant source of information about the Church. Foreign patterns of work, background reports written by professionals, cooperation with international correspondents and agencies, employing correspondents from the local area and offering them professional training, made the activity of the agency very valuable. KAP allowed Polish users to get news from abroad. Thanks to dispatches in both Polish and foreign press, religious life in Poland was mentioned. KAP also had a significant influence on how Poland was perceived both internationally and by the Holy See.
John Paul II saw the mass media as a real cultural revolution – the first modern Areopagus, where a constant exchange of information, ideas and values takes place. From the perspective of time it is worthwhile to ask whether the Pope realized the postulate of using the modern communication technology as an integral part of the Church’s activity.The author focuses on two characteristic events – the Pope’s prayer at the Western Wall in Jerusalem and his appeal for peace on the eve of the Second Gulf War. The paper shows that John Paul II’s communication potential issued from his personality characterized by the history of his own personal experiences.
PL
Jan Paweł II widział w mass mediach prawdziwą rewolucją kulturową – pierwszy współczesny areopag – na którym nieustannie dokonuje się wymiana informacji, idei i wartości. Z perspektywy czasu warto zadać pytanie, czy papież realizował postulat posługiwania się techniką współczesnej komunikacji jako integralną częścią działalności Kościoła?Autor skupia się na dwóch znamiennych wydarzeniach – modlitwie przy Ścianie Płaczu w Jerozolimie i wołaniu o pokój w przededniu wybuchu II wojny w Zatoce Perskiej. Artykuł pokazuje, że potencjał komunikacyjny Jana Pawła II wypływał z jego osobowości nacechowanej historią własnych, osobistych przeżyć.
The article deals with the issue of television broadcast of religious events and in particular of the accompanying commentary. The case study pertains to the broadcast of the Eucharistic procession during the feast of Corpus Christi in TVP Polonia on June 23, 2011. Analysis of the media message showed that the task of the commentator and producer of the programme should consist in bringing out the rich variety of dimensions of the presented religious event. In the case of the Eucharistic procession those dimensions are first of all cultic, christocentric, sanctifying and history of salvation, and secondly the public and semeiological dimensions of the cultic act. Since the programme of the new evangelization asserts that the Church strives to introduce the issue of the proclamation of the Kingdom of God to the modern world also through mass media, it seems that the postulate of such a television broadcast which would show the true identity of the Christian community is valid and timely.
In 1938, a pastor priest of the parish of St. Jan Bosco, Stanisław Streich, was shot in Lubon. The murder was carried out during a service in which about two hundred children participated. The killer communist gave a few shots to the priest, then called from the pulpit: "Long live Communism!". The funeral of the priest became an opportunity for many patriotic manifestations. The events in Luboń were seen in the perspective of martyrdom, due to the fact that the crime was commited for ideological reasons. They immediately interested the Apostolic Nuncio in Poland, Archbishop Filippo Cortesi, who learned about the details of the murder of the priest from the press. He expressed his regret in writing to Cardinal August Hlond, Primate of Poland and the Ordinary of the priest. The Nuncio also reported the crime to the Secretariat of State of the Holy See. It seems that the letters of the nuncio Cortesi constitute an interesting contribution to the source research concerning the crime in Luboń and Fr. Streich. The author of the article undertakes their analysis based on archival materials collected in Archivio Segreto Vaticano.
PL
W 1938 roku w podpoznańskim Luboniu zastrzelono księdza Stanisława Streicha – proboszcza parafii pw. św. Jana Bosko. Zabójstwa dokonano podczas nabożeństwa, w którym brało udział około dwustu dzieci. Zabójca, komunista oddał do księdza kilka strzałów, po czym z ambony zawołał: „Niech żyje komunizm!”. Pogrzeb kapłana stał się okazją do wielu patriotycznych manifestacji. Wydarzenia w Luboniu postrzegano w perspektywie męczeństwa, z uwagi na fakt, że zbrodni dokonano z pobudek ideologicznych. Natychmiast zainteresowały one ówczesnego nuncjusza apostolskiego w Polsce abp. Filippo Cortesiego, który dowiedział się o szczegółach zabójstwa księdza z prasy. Swoje ubolewanie wyraził on w piśmie do kard. Augusta Hlonda, prymasa Polski i ordynariusza kapłana. Nuncjusz poinformował o zbrodni także Sekretariat Stanu Stolicy Apostolskiej. Wydaje się, że listy nuncjusza Cortesiego stanowią ciekawy przyczynek do badań źródłowych dotyczących lubońskiej zbrodni i ks. Streicha. Autor artykułu podejmuje się ich analizy w oparciu o materiały archiwalne zgromadzone w Archivio Segreto Vaticano.
Christ’s Great Commission: Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation (Mk 16,15) sets before the theologian the question about the place of proclaiming God’s Word and the forms of this proclamation. One of the major places of evangelization today is the virtual world. The aim of the article is an analysis of the content of Internet portals in the Poznań archdiocese. Research makes us realize that 25% of parishes still do not have their own portals. The author draws attention to the need to implement a thoroughly considered visual strategy of the parish, in which an essential role will be played by a presentation of the parish community during liturgy and evangelization activities. The article postulates a constructive communication based on building a message that would shape the conscience of the recipients, but also warns against fi lling the Internet with religious kitsch. The pastor should not treat the portal as a private blog of which he is the author but rather as a platform for pastoral suggestions that can be lived out by the faithful. The overriding goal is to enthuse the potential recipients while proclaiming the Good News to all creation.
PL
Nakaz misyjny Chrystusa: „Idźcie na cały świat i głoście Ewangelię wszelkiemu stworzeniu” (Mk 16,15), stawia przed teologiem pytanie o miejsce głoszenia słowa Bożego i formy przepowiadania. Jednym z ważnych miejsc ewangelizacji jest dziś świat wirtualny. Celem artykułu jest analiza treści portali internetowych parafi i w archidiecezji poznańskiej. Badania uświadamiają, że nadal 25% parafi i w diecezji nie ma własnego portalu. Autor zwraca uwagę na konieczność wdrożenia przemyślanej strategii wizualnej parafi i, w której istotną rolę odgrywa ukazanie wspólnoty parafi alnej podczas liturgii i działań ewangelizacyjnych. Artykuł postuluje komunikację konstruktywną, opartą na budowaniu przekazu kształtującego sumienia odbiorców, przestrzega także przed zapełnianiem Internetu religijnym kiczem. Duszpasterz nie powinien traktować portalu jako prywatnego, autorskiego bloga, ale raczej jako platformę pastoralnych propozycji do realizacji w życiu wiernych. Wszystko po to, by zarazić entuzjazmem potencjalnych odbiorców, niosąc Ewangelię „wszelkiemu stworzeniu”.
In the period of the Second Republic of Poland two attempts – unfortunately unsuccessful – were undertaken to organize the teaching of theology at university level in Poznań. Endeavors to create a Theological Faculty at Poznań University in the years 1919-1921 did not bring the expected effects. In 1937 Cardinal August Hlond addressed a plea to the Apostolic See to reinstate the Lubrański Academy in Poznań. The Primate’s vision included the construction of a modern building of the academy which he saw as his personal gift to the archdiocese and a “remembrance” of his primateship. The article takes up the above mentioned issue in the light of the Vatican’s archival materials. They allow us to grasp some essential historical facts and provide access to the drafts of the statutes of the intended reactivated Academy. Their publication herein seems to be an interesting contribution to the outlining of a complete history of the Faculty of Theology in Poznań.
In 1923 Rev. Linus Frezer, a priest of the Archdiocese of Poznań and pastor in Œmi³owo, was expelled from the territory of the Republic of Poland. The decree of expulsion triggered a long exchange of correspondence between the priest himself, the Apostolic See and the Primate of Poland. A letter concerning the issue, written by pope Pius XI, focuses like in a lens all the problems pertaining to the political and national situation of Poland after the regaining of independence. The complexity of the circumstances was testified by Berlin’s attempt to stir up a diplomatic debate on the case of Rev. Frezer. The article scrutinizes the issue of the administrative decision which was of crucial importance for the further life of the priest and also looks at the psychological aspects of his life as a German priest who in the situation of an independent Poland wanted to or was made to live in Germany.
The Homiletic Directory (2014), referring to the apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis Evan-gelii gaudium „On the Proclamation of the Gospel in Today's World”, reminds contemporary preachers of the significance of using images in proclaiming the word of God: One of the most important things is to learn how to use images in preaching, how to appeal to imagery. The need of depiction is all the more pressing as we live in a visual culture, and modern man is sated by talk; he is obviously often tired of listening and, what is worse, impervious to words (Pope Paul VI). The article tackles the issue of the impact of images on the salvific mediation of the Church on the ground of homiletic theology and the theology of mass media. The author bases his argument on several avatars which function very successfully in today's world of electronic communication. He describes the process of appealing to imagination on the example of the image of a window, vase, emoticon, gramophone and vanishing.The preacher paints pictures in the imagination of the listeners first of all by means of his own attitude: gestures, hand movement, look. Also articulation, a faster or slower pronunciation of sounds, as well as moments of silence can become important elements of imagery. The world of visual imagination is particularly compatible with metaphors and comparisons, analogies and suita-ble narration. The functionality of an image perceived in this way should take into account the character of the contemporary message, especially the media message.
PL
Dyrektorium Homiletyczne (2014), odwołując się do adhortacji apostolskiej papieża Franciszka Evangelii Gaudium o głoszeniu Ewangelii w dzisiejszym świecie, przypomina współczesnym kaznodziejom znaczenie obrazów w głoszeniu słowa Bożego. Jedną z najistotniejszych spraw jest uczenie się korzystania z obrazów w przepowiadaniu, sposobów w jakie można odwołać się do wyobraźni. Ta potrzeba jest tym bardziej paląca, gdyż żyjemy w kulturze wizualnej, a współczesny człowiek jest zasypywany obrazami i często zmęczony słuchaniem Artykuł porusza kwestię wpływu obrazów na zbawcze pośrednictwo Kościoła na gruncie teologii przepowiadania i teologii mediów. Autor opiera swoją argumentację na kilku awatarach, które funkcjonują z powodzeniem w dzisiejszym świecie komunikacji elektronicznej. Opisuje proces odwoływania się do wyobraźni na przykładzie wizerunku okna, wazonu, emotikonu, gramofonu i znikania.
August Hlond served for over ten years (1926-1939) as the archbishop of Gniezno and Poznań during the pontificate of Pius XI and on three occasions addressed questions to the Apostolic See which were considered by the Congregation of the Holy Office. Only one of those questions was directly related to the archdioceses governed by him. The remaining ones were taken up by the Consultor of the Holy Office in a printed report and distributed to the members of the Congregation to acquaint them with the issues to be considered. Their analysis seems to be interesting from the perspective of relations between the Apostolic See and the episcopate of Poland because Hlond did not hesitate to bluntly voice his concerns about the threat of a collapse of Catholicism in Poland within a few decades. The issues tackled by the Holy Office are indirect evidence of the recognition the Apostolic See showed to the significant role of the Primate in the Polish Church. Cardinal Hlond's question on vows of obedience received from penitents by some confessors met with a decisive reaction of the Holy See and it was the Primate of Poland who was appointed to resolve the problem. The other two questions concerned doubts as to the participation of Catholics in acatholic ceremonies and the possibility of selling prohibited books by the St. Adalbert Bookstore in Poznań.
In April 1927 the Holy Father Pious XI appointed Rev. Karol Radoński, pastor of the church of the Most Holy Heart of Jesus and St. Florian in Poznań, coadjutor bishop of August Hlond, the archbishop of Gniezno and Poznań. In the literature of the subject it is assumed that the Episcopal nomination took place on 8 April, 1927, even though from an analysis of press accounts of the period it follows that the news was made public only on 22 April. The article, based on source documents, describes the circumstances of the nomination of Rev. K. Radoński as coadjutor bishop and the press context of the event. The nomination was preceded by a press leak about Rev. Józef Kłos, editor-in-chief of ,,Przewodnik Katolicki" as supposedly suggested for the post by Primate Hlond.
In 1919, in a Poland reborn after years of partitions, Poznań University was established and according to the intention of its founders one of the faculties was to be the Faculty of Theology, created by the University Senate and approved by the Apostolic See. However, this faculty was not launched. The author of the article, on the basis of Vatican archives shows the active role of Archbishop Dalbor, who in his abundant correspondence and personal conversations with Nuncio A. Ratti and Cardinal G. Bisleti tried to convince the Apostolic See to the project of the Poznań academic circles. Another important conclusion from the study of the archives is a positive assessment of the role of the Apostolic Nuncio in Warsaw. Finally, the author formulates the hypothesis that the main reason why the Faculty of Theology did not undertake its activity was the decision of the Congregation for Seminaries and Universities (later the Congregation for Catholic Education) which in the initial phase of the project precluded the possibility of seminarists taking up theological studies at the Faculty. It appears that the Apostolic See overlooked the historical moment which created an opportunity for the realization of the aspirations of the Poznań academic milieu.
To the abundant bibliography on the activity of Cardinal August Hlond the author of the article wishes to add a reflection on one of his personality traits - interest in aviation. Already in 1929 - so at the very onset of civil aviation in Europe - the Archbishop of Gniezno and Poznań sojourned to Rome by air. The Primate of Poland was probably one of the first cardinals to venture a flight, attracting understandable attention of the mass media. On the basis of archival materials and press information the article traces the cardinal’s journey to Rome for the beatification of the founder of the Salesian Society, Fr. John Bosco. Thanks to the air travel from Poznań via Katowice, Vienna and Venice to Rome, Cardinal Hlond gained the reputation of a progressive person. Realization of the travel schedule was facilitated by such favorable circumstances as the launching of an air connection from Poznań to Katowice during the Polish General Exhibition.
From the perspective of the past years the pontificate of beatified John Paul II demands some deepened theological reflection over the events which significantly affected the Church’s image in the contemporary world. It seems that the pope’s request for forgiveness for sins committed by the faithful of the Church is one of the gestures which changed the course of history. This event received a lot of attention in the international press. This paper analyzes press articles published in American, French and Italian daily papers. The request for forgiveness was not only presented as a historical event but also as the pope’s reaction to real, contrary to taught principles and sinful deeds of the Church’s faithful, about which some of churchmen would rather remain silent. However, even the twisted view of presenting that event could transmit the evangelical truth, awaking in a recipient spiritual experience. That’s why “the day of forgiveness” may be called a pearl of John Paul II’s pontificate, who was able to make the topic of forgiveness one of the interpretive keys to his apostolic ministry.
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