Ethnic policy towards the “non-Polish” population, in particular considering the ethnic group of the Lemkos in the period of the Second Republic of Poland was characterised by two concepts of assimilation: ethnic and national. Undoubtedly, one figure who distinguished himself in the process of creating policy towards the Lemkos was W. Wielhorski, who effectuated clear and complete examination of the Lemkos issue in the Second Republic of Poland. Any operations undertaken by Polish authorities aimed at gaining loyalty of the Lemkos population as well as at conferring autonomy in order to maintain their ethnic or cultural distinctiveness. The twilight of the 1930s saw a change in the government’s orientation towards the “non-Polish” population which was expressed in a military, nationalistic way of leading the ethnic policy.
The purpose of this article is to describe the relationship between parliamentarism and the social teaching of the Catholic Church, with a special emphasis on pastoral, social and political activities of cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha. The system of parliamentary government is a system of government in which the legislative authority in the form of parliament passes laws and controls the executive authority, which is wielded by the president together with the government. An important aspect of this system of government is the interpenetration of these two authorities and their mutual complementing, which is evident even in the possibility of bringing forward bills by the executive. The view of the parliamentary system held by cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha was based on the social attitude which was represented by the Christian Democrats. The political system accepted by the Christian Democrats was democracy, which very clearly demonstrates all positive forms of local government’s actions and the principle of subsidiarity. The basis of this assumption is that it is on the lowest levels of society where the common good based on social solidarity can be realized. The Archbishop of Krakow perceived the political, social and economic issues through the prism of the Catholic Church. He believed that the task of the state is to protect society against the moral decay of anti-Christian totalitarian systems. According to Sapieha, the state should act as a servant in relation to the nation. The Metropolitan claimed also that the vision of the relationship between social ranks, contrary to the socialist vision, was not burdened with a conflict. Sapieha saw the danger of drastic social inequality, but definitely spoke out against socialist and communist solutions. The cardinal emphasized the accent which should be laid on the development of all forms of civic government. So the ideal state is a decentralized state, in which citizens, due to rights and activities taken up by themselves, have an influence over the governments. According to Sapieha, a democratic state of law should respect political pluralism based on the principle of subsidiarity and justice, as well as sovereignty, and above all – the principle of parliamentary majority.
This article aims to present the views of Archbishop of Krakow, Prince Adam Stefan Sapieha, on the concordat signed between the Holy See and the Polish Republic on 10 February 1925. The topic of this paper suggests the critical view on this issue. Krakow bishop showed a negative line from the beginning of the negotiations between the Polish and the Vatican. Throughout the all period of his pastoral ministry, he was asupporter of the separation of church and state, and claimed that the activities of these institutions should be regulated by the constitution or, in particular cases, by special international agreements. He expressed opposition to obligation of the oath to the state by the clergy as well as to insufficient impact of the church on the education of school children. These views were minor ones but not isolated. Critical line represented by Adam Stefan Sapieha against the Concordat of 1925, during the preparation, adoption and ratification, was primarily based on the view of the Bishop on the place of the church in the state and its social and salvific mission.
Capitalism in political and economic views of pr. Anthony Szymanski This article aims to present the political and economical views of priest Antoni Szymański on the capitalist system. He considering the concept of the capitalist system raised the most important issues, such as property, capital, labour, fair pay and the problem of unemployment. During his observations on the core of contemporary capitalism noted many anomalies of this system. However, he didn’t remain a passive critic and proposed concrete path toward “healing” capitalist system. It should be emphasized that the views of Szymanski are based on catholic social teaching, so he put on a pedestal a man and his inherent dignity.
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