Obilježavanje tisućugodišnjice kršćanstva u Poljskoj u kontekstu poljsko-njemačkih odnosa i crkvenodržavnih odnosa u Poljskoj i Jugoslaviji (1965.)
Marking the one thousand years of Christianity in Poland in the Context of the Polish-German Relations and the Church-State Relations in Poland and Yugoslavia (1965)

Summary/Abstract: In 1966 the Catholic Church in Poland celebrated one thousand years of Christianity of Polish people. The Poland Bishops’ Conference wanted to mark this celebration by a striking gesture that would resonate in public as a sign of Christian goodness of the Polish Church and willingness to forgive even those acts which are the hardest to forgive. Given the fact that the preparations for the celebration were held during the proceeding of the Second Vatican Council, the Polish bishops took this opportunity to establish better contact with the West German bishops, and in agreement with them they prepared a pastoral letter which strongly echoed in the church, political and overall Polish, German and international public of that time. On November the 18th 1965, the Polish bishops sent this pastoral letter to the West German bishops, with the special emphasis on their forgiving and seeking forgiveness, and offering a dialogue with the aim of improving the relations between the Polish and the West German Church, people and states. This pastoral letter also took into account the problem of the German-Polish borders that had been established by the victorious forces after the Second World War, as well as the emigration of the German population from the west Poland to the Federal Republic of Germany, and the settlement of these areas by the Poles from the east in order to extend preferential treatment to Soviet interests. The West German bishops responded the letter in the similar reconcilable tone, but they did not tackle the problem of borders, with which a part of the Polish public was not satisfied. The Polish communist government reacted on all this harshly, accusing the Polish bishops that they had exited the church scope of jurisdiction and performed a treacherous act against the Polish government and state. Thus they were trying in many ways to obstruct the celebration of one thousand years of Christianity, yet due to the exceptional power and respectability of the Church among the people, they did not have great success. Considering that the Polish bishops invited bishops and church believers from many countries of Europe and the world to the celebration, the Polish authorities took various diplomatic measures to make their response as smaller as possible. So they exerted diplomatic pressure on the Yugoslav communist authorities as well, who, in order not to run afoul of the Polish authorities, but also of the Catholic Church in Yugoslavia with which they had tried to normalise relations through negotiations with the Holy See, by indirect pressure suggested the Yugoslav bishops to refrain from going to Poland and organising pilgrimage groups, from which the bishops mostly gave up, aware of the tense church-state relations in Poland and possible inconveniences that would await them there.

• Details
• Contents