As of February, priests in Krakow, from the John Paul II Centre and the esteemed Papal University, are to be schooled in the ethics and theology surrounding IVF treatment, a highly contentious issue in Poland.

“We want to tutor priests in debates that are relevant to the contemporary man,” said Father Zygmunt Kosowski, director of the John Paul II Centre.

The move follows on from wrangling in parliament about state funding for IVF treatment. At present, IVF is currently only available in private clinics. Whilst liberals claimed that this state of affairs was prejudicial against poorer couples struggling to have a baby, the bid to initiate state funding prompted right wing groups to call for an outright ban on the treatment.

Six different bills – taking in all shades of the spectrum – had their first reading in parliament in late October, but the process stalled, with calls for amendments to five of the bills.

According to the Reverend Dr Andrzej Muszala, director of the Institute of Bioethics at the Papal University in Krakow, the recent debates have highlighted how little society knows about IVF:

This was so “even amongst nurses, let alone priests and catechists,” Muszala reflected. “We want to change this,” he added.

Rev. Dr Muszala expressed his concerns that at present, priests in confessionals are ill-equipped to empathise with some of the dilemmas facing today's parents.

However, the new initiative does not amount to an about-turn on the Catholic Church's policy towards IVF.

“Conception is an act of marital love, but in vitro is not,” Dr. Muszala affirmed. “And besides, this treatment is a short-cut. It does not treat infertility. There are other treatments, for example NaProTechnology, which find its causes, and which are able to provide a cure.” (nh)