A balance of the Year of Faith” “

“It was a time of reconciliation with God and mankind”, that provided “the possibility of responding in the deep of our hearts to the question on whether the faith proclaimed by the Church is present in our lives and what it means”, wrote Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz, archbishop of Warsaw, in a letter addressed to the diocese for the closing of the Year of Faith. In the message for the period of Advent the polish bishops reiterated that the year that has just ended “is a gift and a major commitment”. They also reminded us that: “today the greatest challenge” is “the transmission of faith to those who are following our way and those who will come”. Numbers are not enough. Orthodox Patriarch Kirill has recently remarked that “the Catholic Church in Poland is in the front line to defend Christian values within the European Union”. In fact, the Polish population (38 million) registers the highest rate of Catholics (92.2% of the overall population) at global level; 71% attends church services “at least once a month” while one on five “only on special occasions”. According to recent findings of the statistical office of the Polish Church, 40% of the faithful regularly take part in Sunday liturgy, while those who approach the liturgical services are more than 16%. Religion – Catholic faith in particular – according to the public opinion analysis Institute CBOS, is “a factor that most unite the great majority of Polish people” (more than 90%). However, the role of faith and of the Church “should not be measured with a statistical gauge”, pointed out the president of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, Msgr. Jozef Michalik, archbishop of Przemyœl, since “what’s most important, namely, the conversion of a person in a complicated situation in life, his struggle and his victory, are non countable values”. Putting God at the centre. Upon the closing of the Year of Faith, as Christmas draws near, the Polish episcopate reminded the faithful “to put God at the centre of family life, of communities and of parishes”, highlighting the need “to rediscover and enhance Christian roots”, since it serves “to look at the present through the prism of faith, and to build the future on the basis of the experience of the living encounter with Christ”. The bishops voiced their concern for “the modern man”, especially for young people “who are unable to wait, they want everything and they want it now, at a low price”. Monsignor Henryk Tomasik, bishop of Radom, speaking of young people, emphasized that “efforts are needed at educational level” so that “the young generation may acknowledge values, love God, their homeland and their fellow others”. “Our societies are marked by pretense”, remarked the prelate, regretting “how difficult it is to experience the spirit of sacrifice today” andding that “what would normally be considered a simple gesture of love towards others, today is viewed as a form of heroism”. Lights and shadows. Many young people have taken part in initiatives promoted on the occasion of the Year of Faith in Poland. Sixty thousand attended the day of prayer at Warsaw’s stadium and the encounter with Ugandan preacher John Baptist Bashoboro; hundreds took part in the week of evangelization held in Bialystok, Warsaw and other cities in the country. Over 1200 delegates convened for the first National Congress of Parish Councils, representing more than 80% of Catholic communities. Monsignor Stanislaw Gadecki, president of the Bishops’ Commission for Pastoral Care, conveyed his concern for the “scarce interest” in pastoral councils shown by the faithful, and mentioned that “a number of parish priests are reluctant to accept lay people’s cooperation”. Hostile mass media. It should also be pointed out that the initiatives marking the Year of Faith received poor media coverage at national level. Indeed, added Msgr. Marek Jedraszewski, archbishop of Lodz, the media “present the Church as if it were a criminal organization”. “The picture of the Church they depict does not correspond to the truth”, pointed out the prelate. “Today”, he added, “we are often faced with the denial of God at cultural and practical level alike”. The Polish bishops, voicing their concern “for the attempt of insinuating evil within society and in people’s lives”, underlined that “gender ideology represents a threat to the family in particular, and to the future of society as a whole”. “Only the traditional family and the Church can oppose specific anthropological visions disseminated through the media. Indeed, it is no surprise that the latter has become the target of violent attacks”, said Jedraszewski.