The Presidium of the Polish Episcopate requests an examination of the legal status of the decree of the Minister of Education of 26 July 2024

https://episkopat.pl/doc/216924.Prezydium-KEP-wnioskuje-o-zbadanie-stanu-prawnego

https://episkopat.pl/doc/216959.Il-Presidio-dell-Episcopato-chiede-di-esaminare-lo-status

The main points of the petition were presented at a briefing at the Secretariat of the Polish Bishops’ Conference by the spokesman of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, Fr Leszek Gęsiak SJ. A similar petition was submitted by the churches affiliated to the Polish Ecumenical Council, as discussed by its director, Rev. Grzegorz Giemza.

The spokesman of the Polish Bishops’ Conference emphasised that the Presidium of the Polish Bishops' Conference further requests an examination of the compliance of the provisions of the regulation with Articles 2, 24 and 53(3) in connection with Article 48(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 2 April 1997, Article 12(2) of the Concordat between the Holy See and the Republic of Poland signed in Warsaw on 28 July 1993 and Article 1(1), (3) and (5) of the Act of 14 December 2016. - Education Law.

Deciding to file a petition with the First President of the Supreme Court – admitted Fr Leszek Gęsiak SJ – the Presidium of the Polish Bishops’ Conference is guided by the conviction that the case concerns an important public interest, i.e. such values as the correctness of legislation, the protection of labour, the right of parents to bring up their children in accordance with their own convictions and the right of children and young people to upbringing and care appropriate to their age and achieved development.

Fr Gęsiak stressed that in issuing the regulation in question, it was limited to allowing representatives of the churches and other associations concerned to express their opinions. Meanwhile, Article 12(2) of the Act on the educational system requires the competent minister, when issuing a regulation specifying the conditions and manner of performing the tasks related to the organisation of religious education by schools, to act “in agreement with the authorities of the Catholic Church and the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church and other churches and religious associations”.

In addition – stated the spokesman of the PBC – the principle of protection of the trust of citizens in the state and the laws made by it – the principle of loyalty of the state to its citizens – which is seen as the foundation of the principle of a democratic state of law (Article 2 of the Constitution) and the principle of labour protection (Article 24 of the Constitution) were violated in an extreme way with regard to catechists, and in particular lay catechists, for whom work as a teacher of religious education is the basis for securing material needs, often not only their own, but also those of their family.

Fr Gęsiak noted that the contested regulation does not contain any provisions that would ensure stability of employment for catechists in the situation of a sudden change in the regulations concerning the conditions and manner of organising religious instruction, which will necessarily have the effect of significantly reducing the demand for the work of teachers of religious education. The spokesman of the PBC added that the regulation, as drafted, calls this stability into question by making the possibility of their continued employment dependent on factors completely beyond their control.

In addition, Fr Gęsiak pointed out that no transitional provisions have been formulated to facilitate catechists' adaptation to the new situation, and the period of vacatio legis provided for in the regulation (the regulation is to enter into force on 1 September 2024) is also clearly inadequate to the nature of the changes introduced and the legal relations to which it refers.

The spokesman of the PBC also pointed out that the provisions of the amended regulation do not sufficiently respect the constitutionally guaranteed (Article 53(3) in connection with Article 48(1)) right of parents to determine the direction of the moral and religious upbringing and teaching of their children, while preserving the rights of the children themselves.

Fr Gęsiak stressed that the teaching of the Catholic religion should be carried out in accordance with the programme developed by the ecclesiastical authority. He added that it is important in this respect that the programmes developed in this way provide separate content for each level of teaching (each class). Teaching in inter-class groups – the spokesman of the PBC acknowledged – will by its very nature be teaching delivered differently from that planned in the programmes developed by the authorised ecclesiastical authority. This constitutes a breach of Article 12(2) of the Concordat between the Holy See and the Republic of Poland.

Fr Gęsiak noted that the wide possibilities of creating inter-class groups are, in addition, contrary to the right of children and young people to upbringing and care, appropriate to their age and achieved development, and the obligation to adapt the content, methods and organisation of teaching to the mental and physical capabilities of pupils (Article 1, points 1, 3 and 5 of the Education Law). The spokesman of the PBC pointed out that this fact is, however, completely ignored in the provisions of the regulation.

The Director of the Polish Ecumenical Council, Rev. Grzegorz Giemza, pointed out that the basic issue raised in the petition is the mode in which this regulation was issued. He stressed that this mode has not been followed, despite the fact that the practice of acting in agreement has been followed by all Ministers of Education for the past 30 years.

Fr Giemza added that, in addition, the one-month vacatio legis period provided for in the regulation, in the context of the difficult staffing situation in the public education system in Poland, known to the issuing authority, does not correspond to the principle of rationality of the legislator. The director of the Polish Ecumenical Council noted that the 2024 regulation poses a real risk of some teachers of religious education losing their jobs, without a real chance to gain new teaching qualifications in disciplines among which there is a shortage of teachers.

Press Office of the Polish Bishops’ Conference