Reiterating Church teaching on the value of healthy families, analyzing the situation of the family in Poland and a call for more pro-family politics - all these can be found in the newly released Polish Episcopate document "To serve the truth about marriage and family". But what has drawn most attention is a very clear and straightforward remainder to Catholic politicians, that if they violate basic moral directives on life or family rights issues in the public sphere, they risk excommunication.
Joanna Najfeld reports
The document is a compilation of the Church doctrine on the value of family life, and the duties of society towards the family, as the crucial fundament of every healthy society. Drafted by the Council for Family Issues at the Polish Episcopate, it talks openly and directly about the evils of abortion, IVF and expertiments on embryos, but also of breaking families by divorce or promotion of promiscuity.
'There is a lot of meaning in the title itself: to serve the truth about marriage and family. The focus is on the objective truth. This is because we are living in a world where it seems you can redefine everything, including marriage and family. As John Paul II was saying just before he died, we are witnessing very strong, organized attacks on marriage and family, which could also serve to destroy the Christian spirit of Europe. These attacks include promotion of sex education at schools. We have to remember who was the first to introduce the idea of sex education. It was communist ideologue György Lukács in Hungary, who thought promiscuity was the best method to fight the institution of marriage, in order to fight Christianity,' Father Andrzej Rębacz, head of the Episcopate Council for Family Affairs and the National Chaplain for Families explained.
The part of the 100-pages long document which has drawn most attention was the one discussing the duties of Catholic politicians. "It is absolutely not true that a politician, or a government member, has to or can act against his conscience. (...) When it comes to God's law, everybody is equal, politicians included," bishops wrote. They also reiterated Church Law, according to which, anyone who publicly contradicts fundamental moral values such as the"Thou shall not kill" commandment by voicing their support or acceptance of abortion, is automatically excluded from the Church.
'It should be obvious to every Catholic. If you are pro-abortion and keep it to yourself, you are guilty of a mortal sin, and until you Confess, you cannot go to Communion. However, if you publicly support abortion, then you excommunicate yourself. You don't need a bishop to excommunicate you, you have done it yourself, you have left the Church by the public act of disobedience. And it's not enough just to go to Confession to return to the Church. You have to make up for the things you have done by taking back your support to abortion. You have to repent in public. Then you go to Confession and then the bishop can lift the excommunication. This goes for all politicians who support or accept abortion,' said Wojciech Cejrowski, writer, journalist and Catholic commentator.
Last year, there was a debate in Poland around Health Minister Ewa Kopacz, who, despite calling herself Catholic, publically arranged abortion for a 14-year old mother. Catholic groups brought up the question of excommunication back then and some politicians protested. So, what do politicians think today about this Church teaching?
Prominent leftist politician Janusz Onyszkiewicz, who refused to disclose whether he considered himself a Catholic, is critical of the bishops' letter and says Catholic politicians should leave their moral values in their private lives. 'I don't want to discuss the Church teaching, I think that obviously the Church should expect everybody who belongs to the Church that he should follow a certain moral code. But it is different to follow it in private life and to work on the legal system of the country,' he said.
Polish member of the European Parliament Konrad Szymański disagrees. He says politicians, too, should keep their public and private lives consistent, and if they declare to be Catholic, they should practice what they preach. 'I've read the letter with great satisfaction because bishops reminded us the very simple truths that the obligation of conscience is much more important than any other obligation, including political obligations. So, the challenges we are facing, also on the European level, challenges concerning the protection of life, traditional marriage and family is something crucial and in fact it is something very basic. It's hard to say anything else being a Catholic, reading the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church, but it's worth reminding,' Szymański said.