“The State in a democratic system is the consequence of a pact between the social forces; elections serve to identify the representatives of the community. Therefore participation in the elections is a moral duty and an honour for all citizens”, said Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, Archbishop of Krakow. In view of the snap elections called in Poland for 21 October, John Paul II’s closest aide – and private secretary – urged his compatriots to vote: “Citizens have a duty to take an interest in political life, for it is on the results of the elections that what will be the laws of the State depend. Believers cannot exempt themselves from participation in the vote”. “But it’s not enough just to participate – Cardinal Dziwisz continued – It’s important to vote according to conscience. The elector ought to pose a fundamental question: whether the person he intends to vote for really is the best candidate; whether he will be able to take responsible decisions; and especially whether he will keep his promises”. Cardinal Dziwisz said it was right “to take into consideration the morality of the candidate”, but, in his view, “before voting for a candidate it is worth examining his record at the level of the region from whence he comes”. Cardinal Dziwisz reminded electors of the need “to recognize candidates by their actions!” In the electoral campaign now in progress in Poland the episcopate has not come out in support of one of the political parties running for government, and even Radio Maryja, the beleaguered Catholic radio station, has openly declared its intention “not to support any alignment or persuade voters to vote for one of the political parties”. In recent days the presenter of one of its programmes pointed out: “We know that the listeners of Radio Maryja include the supporters of various political factions and alignments. It’s just for this reason that our station has no intention of declaring its support for just one party or faction in the electoral campaign”.
