Jawność i ograniczenia w funkcjonowaniu Konferencji Episkopatu Polski
The transparency and restrictions on activities of the Polish Episcopal Conference

Summary/Abstract: Informally national bishops’ conferences existed already in the 19th century. The benefits of organizing such conferences were slowly becoming more and more apparent, as they allowed bishops to share their experiences. At the request of bishops, the Holy See sometimes accepted the statutes of various national conferences – at that time, the law of the universal Church did not contain any norms that regulated the organization and functioning of such institutions. The situation changed during the Second Vatican Council, when the need was recognized to legally regulate the existence and functioning such conferences. The first version of the Statutes of the Polish Episcopal Conference was passed on February 13, 1969, and after a month, on March 15, it gained recognitio of the Holy See. Thus, the Polish Episcopal Conference officially became a subject of ecclesiastical law. The article describes transparency and restrictions on activities of the Polish Episcopal Conference based on subsequent versions of the Statutes and Regulations and on activities of the major bodies of the Polish Episcopal Conference.

• Details
• Contents