In vitro fertilization is morally wrong, writes the Polska daily, citing a pastoral letter for yesterday’s Feast of the Holy Family.

Press reviewed by Alicja Baczyńska

The Catholic Church has firmly condemned in vitro fertilization, writes the Polska daily. “Children are a gift from God and not a commodity,” Polish bishops have stated in a pastoral letter read out at masses across the country on yesterday’s Feast of the Holy Family. The episcopate addressed married couples struggling with infertility, claiming the Church understood the situation, but nonetheless argued that not every married couple was bound to have offspring. “A child is not a pricey whim,” counters a columnist with Gazeta Wyborcza. The journalist thinks it highly offensive to perceive couples yearning for a baby as consumers. MP Jarosław Gowin, of the ruling Civic Platform, claims that the pastoral letter is not targeted at the IVF bill proposed by the party, as both these politicians and the Church have one common aim of protecting embryos, writes the Polska daily.

The Polish economy will come down to a much slower pace than the Ministry of Finance forecasts, claims Gazeta Wyborcza. If the downturn persists in the EU over a longer period of time, growth may decrease to 2.1 percent, claim advisors to Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The sectors most exposed to risk are the steel industry, car manufacture, property development and furniture production. The effects of the crisis are in the hands of Poles, claims Janusz Jankowiak, of the Polish Business Roundtable. He believes that assisting companies of branches most hit by the crisis would do the trick, along with a considerable decrease of the corporate income tax for three or four years.

The Polska daily has published a ranking published on the biggest political winners and failures of 2008. Journalists of dailies Rzeczpospolita, Dziennik and Polska as well as weeklies Wprost and Polityka have cherrypicked politicians… on the basis of attaining goals set out by themselves and their position on the political arena as compared with last year. Also, Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has made the A-list.. for his contribution to the anti-missile shield deal with the United States and recognition as a strong candidate for chief of NATO by the foreign press. Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a controversial figure in the debate, has been chosen as a winner due to major public support, despite voices of his meager achievements in politics. And on the other end of the line, we find Jarosław Kaczyński, head of the largest opposition party, the Law and Justice, who was enlisted as a failure due to conflicts within his party, unsuccessful efforts at gaining a new electorate, and the war waged against the media.

Almost a third of respondents taking part in a survey by Dziennik believes the mobile phone is an intrinsic part of them and they would sooner lend a car than the phone. They would rather lose their keys or data from their computers, than their beloved contraption, shows the survey. Yet once they do they may lose track of their agenda, as well as contact details of all the people they know. Also, these devices are more than just a means of communication, as they have sentimental value. They are pampered with fashionable accessories, ringtones, screensavers, wallpapers, games and what not. “It’s like a best friend,” says a respondent cited by the paper.

A survey carried out for Rzeczpospolita on the state of Polish families, reveals that a significant majority of Poles (around 92 percent) are confident that they can count on help from their relatives, whereas 89 percent would not switch their family for a new one. But this does not mean everything is in perfect order, writes the paper, as in the Polish culture it is perceived to be inappropriate to complain about family. These figures merely show their dreams and aspirations, claims a sociologist quoted by Rzeczpospolita. When asked if they would want their children to have a family like theirs, 41 percent of the respondents said no. Yet they do believe that kin is of the highest importance. The survey indicates how different Poles are from the Western societies in terms of attitudes to friends, neighbours and acquaintances. It is characteristic of nationals of a post-communist country to be more distrustful towards other people, claims the sociologist. Also, Poles do not value friendship as much as Westerners, who increasingly substitute relatives with friends in the time of weakening family ties.