Communicating with the Gospel

The president of Polish bishops, Monsignor Stanislaw Gadecki, in a letter to president Bronislaw Komorowski dated July 27 expressed a firm stand on the law authorizing assisted insemination recently adopted by Parliament and ratified by the Head of State. “Where life is at stake there is no room for compromise, there is only room to limit the damage of such legislation”, underlined the prelate quoting John Paul II. The bishop pointed out: “I am writing these words with sadness and spirit of responsibility for the most vulnerable: in the text of this new law they are excluded and treated as objects”. “We will never consent – and under no kind of pressure – to a similar treatment of human beings and of human life in its earliest stages”, he said. Anna T. Kowalewska for SIR Europe asked the newly elected spokesperson of the Polish bishops Fr Pawel Rytel-Andrianik, to comment on Gadecki’s reflection within the communication strategy of Polish bishops. Is the recent letter by the president of the bishops, an initiative with few precedents in the history of the Polish Church, the result of a specific communication strategy? “In order to understand the communication mode of the Church we must remember its roots, since it is not unconnected to history. It is summarised in one single word: the Gospel. The Church in Poland has always been very close to the people, and in the field of communication the example of Pope Francis is of great comfort to us, also as a bishop close to the faithful. The Polish people have always considered the Church as a home, and people have always perceived the closeness of the Church. It must be said that throughout the history of Poland when others decided to remain silent the Church always had to courage to speak out. Supporting the Poles in their historical events – epitomized by the recent stand of cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, former primate of Poland, who reiterated his ‘non possumus’ to Communist authorities striving to destroy the faith and the human dignity of our people – ensured that the voice of the Church was heard in the Country. In the past days Msgr. Gadecki, in his capacities as president of the bishops’ Conference, repeated the same “we cannot’ on behalf of all the bishops against the introduction of regulations stripping the unborn child of the right to personal development, birth and a dignified life. Although today there are those who criticize their firm stand on assisted insemination, the bishops know that with time people will side with the truth and not with those who choose what is most convenient to them”. How do you intend to address the communication challenge in the perspective of WYD 2016? “The Polish Church is the Church of Saint John Paul II. We remember his appeal in his first homily: ‘Open wide the doors to Christ.’ The next WYD will be devoted to the God of Mercy: also in this area the experience of the current pope, who during his ad limita visit of the Polish bishops pointed how that his motto ‘Miserando atque eligendo’ (he looked at him with a feeling of love and chose him) is rooted within the message of Saint Faustyna Kowalska on Divine Mercy. Pope Francis knows how to transmit the evangelical message. Guided by his example we will try to transmit it worldwide on the occasion of the WYD”. The recent global economic crisis has increased the gap between rich and poor people, ever more numerous in Poland. What are the concrete initiatives of the bishops for the needy? “I sincerely believe that the bishops adopt the rule that the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand does, and without clamour they support many initiatives for the poor. This support is conveyed also through Caritas centres present throughout the dioceses in the country. Furthermore, through the New Millennium Foundation, set up in the year 1000, they help indigent youths to complete their education. Today the Foundation gives almost 3 thousand scholarships to young people who otherwise would not have the means to fulfil their aspirations. Also various fundraising activities have been put into place, for refugees from Syria and Iraq, for example. In this way the Polish branch of Kiche im Not has managed to collect 6 million zloty (approximately 500 thousand euro) for Christians in Iraq who last February received the visit of Monsignor Gadecki”. What is the position of the Polish Church towards the refugees arriving in thousands to Europe, especially from Africa? “It can be summarized in two words: responsible hospitality. The Patriarch of Babylonia of the Chaldeans, Louis Raphael Sako, has recognized, inter alia, the commitment of the Catholic Church. The bishop of Opole, Andrzej Czaja, for example, has asked the faithful of his diocese to grant hospitality to Syrian Christians, and in the past days the first families have taken possession of their lodgings. It should also be noted that a large number of refugees arrive to Poland from Eastern Europe, from other countries of the ex Soviet Union and from Russia”.