In a letter to congregations, read out in Polish churches Sunday, Polish bishops called for a high turnout in the Polish general election on October 21.

The letter says participation in the election is the ‘right and moral duty of every Polish citizen’. The appeal is also addressed to Poles resident abroad.

In an interview for Polish radio, Archbishop Tadeusz Gocłowski (Gdańsk) said that voters should be guided by a person’s ‘moral integrity, competence and past achievements in public activity’.

The archbishop also added that the words of Pope John Paul II should be quoted in their proper context.

He referred to yesterday’s address by the ex-president Aleksander Kwaśniewski – who is the main face of the Left and Democrats - who told an election meeting: ‘Do not be afraid! Do not be afraid of the future because it belongs to the leftist-democratic coalition!’

Archbishop Gocłowski recalled in his interview that the Polish Pope’s appeal when he was appointed pope in 1978 was: Do not be afraid of living in truth and honesty, and of opening the doors to Christ’.