The visit of John Paul II at the Auschwitz - Birkenau was an extraordinary event for both the faithful of the Catholic Church and the Communist authorities. The paper presents the progress and impact of a visit to the Museum. A very important element was the message of the Holy Father for human dignity and the need for dialogue between different religions and nations. The visit of John Paul II in Auschwitz Museum had great symbolic meaning. It was accompanied by a large media interest.
The article refers to very crucial element of the pontificate of the John Paul II, his engagement in Catholic Church matters in Africa, and his wider concern of African people. Before showing different forms of the engagement of the John Paul II, the situation of the contemporary Catholic Church in Africa was presented. The Pope expressed his interest on Africa and its citizens in many ways. During his pontificate he made 14 pilgrimages to the African continent (in 1980, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000) and visited 42 countries. On the international scene he was an advocate of African people and supported initiatives which could solve political, social and economic problems of the continent (especially military conflicts, hunger, diseases e.g. AIDS, economic injustice). In the end of article synthetic depiction of results of the engagement were characterized.
The subject matter of the paper is the John Paul II teachings on the fields of a state’s activity in economic life. The first part of article talks about general elements of economic order: private property, liberal market, a just salary for labour and the participation of workers in the control of a business. The second part of the paper confirms that the state ought to create a solid infrastructure of economy and to find a good balance between different sectors of economic life. The last part of the paper shows that the state ought to interfere sometimes in the economic field, for example, to combat unemployment and poverty, or to protect the family.
In the teaching of John Paul II’s the need of solidarity globalization is particularly stressed out as well as that of humanization of globalization processes. With the aim of doing it, one should be guided by unchanging social values: the truth, freedom, justice, solidarity, subsidiarity, love. The globalization has two faces: ▪ the benefits which it brings to the world, individual countries and its main beneficiaries, that is international corporations. ▪ negative effects which the developing countries and all people of the world experience (climatic changes, emission of harmful substances, drug addiction, moral nihilism, gradual decrease of human importance). It happens that complex processes caused by economical globalization make their way towards changing a human being into an element of a market, a bartered good or a factor devoid of meaning for decisive choices. As a consequence, a person may feel annihilated by impersonal mechanisms on a world’s scale and may gradually lose his own identity and personal dignity. Key words:
It is important to specify terms – the truth is conformity of a word to a thing or an event, whereas a lie is making the truth unavailable to someone who has the right to it. John Paul II promoted the essential truth that a man is God’s creation; God knows what is good for his creation; human person is God’s image, then should act in such a manner that the image is clear. Faith has moral dimension-it is moral dimension. It is the source of practical involvement which remains in harmony with faith. The principles of one’s conduct are God’s commandments, whereas individualistic ethics, practised in the spirit of illusory freedom, prevents us from discovering the only certain truth-God. Contemporary crisis of society is that faith is rejected and as a result there is breaking off the essential and constitutive bond between the truth and freedom. In economy we can see that the truth in one’s conduct cannot withstand the style of the present geared towards profit. It is proper that the Church supports profit but the profit cannot be the only regulator of a company’s life. There are still human and moral factors. Economic growth should respect human values. Freedom in the economic and social area cannot be torn out from the truth about a human being. The meeting of the Church and the workers’ movement in 1980 showed that it is possible to demand ethics in economy in the name of the truth of a human being-then the civilisation of love is created with its main principles: a person before a thing, more important to be than to have, ethics before technology, mercy before justice, defeat evil with good. Problems existing in this area cannot be disregarded. The matter is important and urging – otherwise, as Pope Leo XIII said in the Encyclical Rerum Novarum, delaying would make evil incurable.
Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae is not a new document. It was published almost twenty years ago – in 1990. Nevertheless it seems that it’s not very well known in Poland. Although it is mainly addressed to Catholic universities, one has to admit that it gives insightful description of academic world’s nature in general. This constitution recalls basic objectives and calling of academia. Ex Corde Ecclesiae is an important voice that speaks about the mission and identity of university, which can be understood in two perspectives. First – in European dimension – it reminds us where Old Continent’s intellectual heritage and achievements come from. Secondly – in our Polish perspective – Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae – may be a valuable signpost for our developing and reforming academic world, which not always seems to understand its identity and mission properly.
Karol Wojtyła was not the first pope to direct a message to the people of art. John Paul II also was not the first pope of modern times to write poems. We will not fall into error by saying that as the first contemporary pope he was an artist and that he remained one also as the head of the Holy See. It is a known fact that he performed as an actor on the stage in theatrical school productions and that he was an actor of Mieczysław Kolarczyk’s underground Rhapsodic Theatre in Kraków during the Nazi occupation. He never ceased to be a poet. He wrote poems and dramatic works during his years as a student, seminarian and priest, as a bishop and cardinal. In his Letter to the artists John Paul II addresses the artists as a peer addressing his peers by setting art on a pedestal and by comparing the toil of the artist to the work of God himself. The pope calls the people of art to dialogue by reminding them that the most important works of art were inspired by religion. One can hardly overlook the fact that this postulate is contrary to the trends of contemporary culture. The sphere of sacrum is frequently in a state of withdrawal. Every artist, especially if he is a writer, knows that evil is frequently more spectacular than good. Dante’s Inferno is more interesting than the Paradiso. It is Satan who is the protagonist of Milton’s Paradise Lost. However, in the works of the past, evil and ugliness were supposed to be in contrast with goodness and beauty and they were used to demonstrate God’s presence. Whereas in modern art, the void caused by the decline of its transcendent dimension is programmatically filled with such values that are marked with the sign of negation. The dawn of beauty and goodness is no longer to be seen on the horizon. It is the absence of the personal God that is particularly felt – of God who is the maker and measure of both values. When we apply the statement about beauty which is the shape of love to these works we notice that there is neither beauty nor love in them. There is neither compassion toward another human being in these works as well. What is even worse, there is even no form in these works. In this sense not only the Letter to the artists, but also John Paul II’s entire body of teaching is a firm expression of opposition toward that which is happening with modern culture.
The present article is portraying the certain route of the upbringing, in which appointing every man is developing. In the process of bringing up the man after the certain time alone is picking it up decisions and vital elections. The process a self-upbringing is which can help aspire to the holiness is supposed to stimulate authorities of the man: mind, will, conscience, in order to in the light of the God’s Revelation, the man alone brought himself up to the holiness. Suggested upbringings by the Pope, in the article are prompting pillars to discover and to develop the vocation.
The author examines the shared religious and intellectual conviction, toughness, and an abhorrence of communism of Pope John Paul II and President Reagan that contributed to the demise of that system in Poland. The author discusses similarities between these two men; their approaches to communism; their meetings beginning in 1982; the hypothesis of a “holy alliance,” and concludes that based on available evidence to date, a strong case can be made that the Pope and Reagan jointly did more than any others to bring about the fall of communism, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the end of the Cold War.
The Jagiellonian idea was a constant inspiration in the political and social action of John Paul II in relation to Poland and Central Europe throughout the entire period of his pontificate. It is difficult to find another political idea – apart from his consistently anti-totalitarian and anti-communist stance – which would determine his teaching to a greater extent. The purpose of this article is to present the author’s interpretation as to which experiences and ideas shaped this approach of the Polish pope. Reference will be made to the pope’s statements, his political thought and practical actions as the head of the Holy See.
On 30 IX 1880 Pope Leo XIII promulgated his encyclical Grande munus in which he recalled the history and the effects of missionary activity carried out among the Slavs in the second half of the ninth century by saints Cyril and Methodius. He also expressed his interest in the unification of the Slavic nations and the creation of a spiritual unity which would bring together Western and Eastern Christianity. On 2 VI 1985, Pope John Paul II, referring to Grande munus promulgated the encyclical Slavorum Apostoli. He deemed the Holy Brothers to be a role model for contemporary Christians, and forerunners of ecumenism, dialogue, enculturation and creation of community in a social environment full of conflicts and divisions. According to the Pope’s view, the continuity of the work done by Cyril and Methodius may save contemporary Europe from forgetting its Christian roots, from denying Christian values and the culture connected with Christianity. As John Paul II maintains, it is the Slavs, especially the Poles, who have a special role in saving Christian Europe. The author does not conceal that she is skeptical about the interest of contemporary Slavs in this evangelization mission seen as continuing the work of the Holy Brothers. She doubts that it can be effective. In view of deep divisions and conflicts among the modern Slavs, of their lack of unity, as well as of a general rejection of Christian values, which can be noticed among those nations as well, it is difficult to see the Slavs as an example of unity among nations and as a model for contemporary Europe. In this multicultural world, those who wish to follow in the footsteps of the Holy Brothers are a definite minority, which has neither the support of their own ethnic/national group nor that of other populations on our continent.
The author considers John Paul II’s treatment of the topic of evolution in order to retrieve its full content. He starts with an analysis of the Pope’s 1996 Address to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, especially addressing the problem of the meaning of the words that “the theory of evolution . . . [is] more than a hypothesis,” and the problem of hominization. Then, he explores papal statements from 1985 and 1986. Finally, he concludes that John Paul II’s teaching on evolution appears as fragmentary and ambiguous and, as such, requires greater precision and further development, especially for the sake of the Catholic theology of creation.
The human being is in the center of John Paul II’s vision of work. There is no work without the human being. The personalistic attitude to work is in line with the ethics of work, because labor or capital must contribute to the good of humanity. The ethics of work highlights the value attached to the worker. The theology of work cannot exist without recognizing the subjective dimension of work. The ethics of work is centered on man because of his and his fellow men’s good, and thus saves the worker from being disconnected from work. Work that is devoid of moral sense becomes pointless, as it loses its social meaning and becomes a source of socioeconomic problems.
Although the place of the notion of homeland in John Paul II’s teaching has been studied in numerous publications, most of them adopted a theological perspective. However, it seems worthy to refer it also to reflections of lay researchers. The present analysis concentrates on Pope’s homilies and speeches given during three pilgrimages to Poland between 1979 and 1987. Thirty texts in which the word homeland appears have been taken into account. It turns out that John Paul II often alluded to visions of homeland fixed in the Polish culture. However, he did not share with his contemporaries the image of homeland with ethnicity, history and tradition in its centre. Homeland, in his vision, should not separate inhabitants of a country, but rather unite them. It should not induce to contemplate national triumphs and failures, but incite to look towards the future.
Today the diplomacy of the Holy See, by virtue of its professionalism and centuries-old tradition, is considered as one of the best in the world. Its activity is quite different from the activity of other diplomatic services. Functioning based on the premise that religion plays an important role in international relations, the papal legates extremely often refer to ethics and morality in the international forum. During the pontificate of Pope John Paul II diplomacy of the Holy See – for the sake of its specificity – remained a unique phenomenon, having no parallel in history.
REASERCH OBJECTIVE: The aim of the article is showing the idea of liberty as inherent in the process of secularization, from which it results; the author appeals to the anthropological thesis drawing its significance from the relational character of the human being as created by God and shows how the secularization destroys this idea of the human person. THE REASERCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: What happens when the liberty is understood as liberation and autonomy towards to God and finally causes result contradictory to the intended one? The author applies the hermeneutic and critical method, referring to the different authors, for example to Henri de Lubac, Romano Guardini, J. Ratzinger, saint John Paul II. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The article analysis the problem of the contradiction between liberty and liberation in Catholic thought. The main item in this argumentation is that the liberty should not be understood as liberation towards to God because of the destructive effects of the secularization process in the Catholic doctrine and Church. REASERCH RESULTS: The liberty understood as an absolute and liberation breaking with the Creator degenerates finally into artifice devoid of rational fundament, in short, of real contents; it is like human epiphenomenon. The new humanism brings the negation and destruction of the human being recognizing his humanity and maturity by breaking with God. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Modernity is the source and the root of the secularization. The idea of liberty devoid of fundament in the human being and the person of God complicates seriously the human coexistence and social life, as admitted once Habermas.
In the article the author tries to answer the question: the protection of which of the two values - liberty and equality - should be a priority in a properly functioning democratic society. In subsequent parts of the article he looks at the four projects of public policy, which proposed in the last three centuries the prominent observers of social life. The first postulate comes from J.J. Rousseau - the fundamental condition of the good society is to ensure equality of all its members. Then the opposite concept was formulated by K.R Popper, that the basic principle is to protect the public life of freedom. In another passage the author cited the idea of A. de Tocqueville, that in a properly functioning democratic society, religion plays a central role and only its presence in the public space ensures effective protection of freedoms of citizens. The last part is dedicated to John Paul Il's observation that the Christian vision of the human interacts with the ethos of a democratic society, where fundamental value is freedom. Based on the analyzes author comes to the conclusion that the principle of democracy is to give the precedence of freedom over equality, and that the future of democracy, and the effectiveness of the protection of human freedom, is directly dependent on the active presence of Christians in the public life.
Pope John Paul II in his teaching code of politics guided by conscience. It is based on four pillars are: peace, justice, solidarity and freedom. According to the Pope, they indicate the priorities of political activity, such as the prevention of unemployment and social exclusion, care for families and people with disabilities, economic development. The key to the whole social question is job. The key to peace is dialogue, education and equitable distribution of wealth. Everything can be achieved if the appropriate law is established. That is the reason why World needs MPs who are people of conscience. To be impartial, competent and acting in a spirit of service should be the priority for them. Follow that way they give witness to their faith and impeccable ethical attitude.
The Vatican's vision of tourism is based on Christian humanism, integral humanism and personalism. At the very core of the vision are human beings, who are not only the creators of tourism but also its ultimate goal, and for this reason all values of the natural world should be unconditionally subordinated to the good that are people. Consequently, the fundamental goal of tourism is to satisfy the needs of exploration, relaxation, entertainment and, first and foremost, the spiritual and intellectual needs of every person. Tourism has to help build a sense of community. It should also contribute to the elimination of poverty and foster the sense of responsibility for the environment. Tourism must not be exclusive to the rich and it should never be a time of depravity, promiscuity and, consequently, the degradation of people. Tourism should become an opportunity for all people to discover their contemplative dimension, giving them a chance to see God in nature and first of all, in other people.
The study is a contribution to research on the theological method and shows the motif of wonderment in the teaching and poetry of John Paul II as an experience inviting man to get to know God and His works ever more deeply. The human experience of being amazed with God has been presented as a theological event – a grace of the ability to stand in awe of God, to get closer to Him and to speak about Him. The author of the article comes to the conclusion that the mission of a theologian is inseparably connected with cultivating the ability to be amazed with God and His works. The experience of wonderment is one of the elements leading to communion with Christ the Theologian, who reveals the Father.
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.