Committee for Catholic Education of the Polish Bishops’ Conference Supports Introduction of the Compulsory Choice Between Ethics and Religion Classes

The Statement also indicates that “the question of making this decision does not lie with the Episcopate but the responsibility pertains to the Government and the Minister of Education and Science.”

“The effect of discussions regarding this issue is to recall and raise awareness of the fact that the ethical level and moral formation plays a key role in the whole process of educating children and young people. In this matter, there is a need for cooperation between the school, the family, and the parish environment,” says the Commission’s Statement.

Press Office of the Polish Bishops’ Conference

We are publishing the full text of the Statement:

       STATEMENT OF THE COMMISSION FOR CATHOLIC EDUCATION
 AFTER THE MEETING ON 8.06.2021 IN WAŁBRZYCH

Wałbrzych 8.06.2021

The meeting of the Commission for Catholic Education was held on 8 June in Wałbrzych. The main topic of the meeting was a reflection on the current model of catechesis in Poland. Given today’s challenges, there is a need to strengthen sacramental catechesis in the parish. Preparation for the sacraments is an opportunity for religious formation not only for children and the youth, but also for adults.

Commission members also discussed the creation of a nationwide digital platform for catechists. In the recent months, during which the teaching was done remotely, the need appeared for the development of new technologies in the school teaching process but also in different forms of parish catechesis.

In the context of the widely discussed issue of the introduction of compulsory choice between ethics and religion classes, the Commission expressed its support of this initiative. the question of making this decision does not lie with the Episcopate but the responsibility pertains to the Government and the Minister of Education and Science. The effect of discussions regarding this issue is to recall and raise awareness of the fact that the ethical level and moral formation plays a key role in the whole process of educating children and young people. In this matter, there is a need for cooperation between the school, the family, and the parish environment.

The meeting of the Commission was also an opportunity to promote the volume “The Activity of the Commission for Catholic Education of the Polish Episcopal Conference in the years 2010-2020.” This study was edited by Fr. Marek Korgul and Fr. Jarosław Kowalczyk and published under the auspices of the Pontifical Faculty of Theology in Wrocław. The volume contains, among other things, the most important documents and decisions issued by the Commission in the last ten years.

Fr. Tomasz Kopiczko
Secretary of the Commission for Catholic Education of the Polish Bishops’ Conference

Translation: P. Nau / Office for Foreign Communication of the Polish Bishops’ Conference.