Will Barack Obama visit Poland this summer? Poles want to have Good Friday off and new sins to confess.

Press review presented by Danuta Isler

“Obama is coming to Poland in the summer,” is the front page headline from Gazeta Wyborcza daily, which writes that the Polish government intends to invite US President Barack Obama to visit this country for the anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. In June, Mr. Obama is to visit France and Israel while in July he is to visit Moscow and take part in G8 summit on Sardinia. He could stop over in Poland then – writes the paper adding that no specific date has mentioned as of yet but diplomatic consultation are underway. A ceremonial meeting of all EU countries and other superpowers who fought in the allies camp is also to take place in Gdansk on 1 September to mark the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. If the celebrations were attended by the US president and the Russian PM Vladimir Putin, then the gathering could turn into an informal EU-Russia-US summit – concludes the paper.

“Poles want to have Good Friday off,” writes Rzeczpospolita daily publishing the result of a poll by GFK Polonia the paper commissioned. They show that 57 percent of respondents claim that Good Friday – the most serious day in the liturgical year, in memory of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ – should be a holiday. At the same time only 16 percent of respondents declare they would be willing to switch Easter Monday for Good Friday as a day off. According to the paper, many Poles already take a day off from work on Good Friday to prepare themselves better to celebrate Easter. Good Friday is traditionally a holiday in several European countries which have both large protestant and catholic communities.

“Swiss bank accounts of Poles to be available to investigators” writes Dziennik daily announcing that Poland will be the first country to sign an historic agreement with Switzerland, disclosing up until now secret details of bank accounts. Talks on the matter are underway and the document may be signed in the fall – announces the daily. According to the Polish finance ministry, the agreement will help Poland’s prosecutors establish whether politicians have illegal bank accounts in Switzerland. Among the details to be worked out is whether the information will be transferred automatically or that the Swiss receive requests from Warsaw on a case-by-case basis.

All Poles who will be going for confession before Easter in order to celebrate it in a dignified way should carefully study a list of new sins - writes Super Express. According to the tabloid, the Vatican – for the first time in 15 years – has paid attention to the appearance of new sins which may be a side effect of, for example, the development of science and technology. In case you are wondering, the offenses in question include failure to segregate waste, binging on fast foods, striving for a career at any cost and neglecting your wife in favor of your friends or a computer. By naming new sins the Church wants to direct us to a proper path and show us the threats of the modern life – writes a Pallotine priest in the tabloid.