Bishops after 400th Plenary Assembly on religious education in school, protection of minors and formation of presbyters

https://episkopat.pl/doc/225929.Biskupi-po-obradach-o-lekcjach-religii-w-szkole-ochronie

In the synodal spirit

The President of the Polish Bishops' Conference Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda SAC noted that the deliberations were conducted in a synodal spirit. He also discussed the main topics taken up during the 400th Plenary Assembly.

Referring to the preparation of a draft of a Commission of independent experts to investigate the phenomenon of sexual abuse of minors in the Catholic Church in Poland, Archbishop Wojda acknowledged that the work had largely been prepared. "There is absolutely the will and desire on the part of all the bishops to implement this topic, to carry out a purification of the Church in this regard" – the hierarch stressed.

In defence of religious education

Bishop Wojciech Osial, President of the Commission of the Polish Bishops' Conference for Catholic Education, spoke about the changes introduced by the Ministry of National Education in the organisation of religious education in school. "We express our objection to the changes introduced by the Ministry of National Education in the organisation of religious education in school, as it is harmful to believers" – Bishop Osial assessed. He explained that this is unfair for three reasons.

Firstly, the law has been violated – Bishop Osial stressed – because changes to the regulation on religious education in school should be made in agreement with the Catholic Church and other Churches and religious associations. "This agreement has been lacking. The changes are made unilaterally. Here the Ministry has broken the law" – the hierarch admitted.

Secondly – Bishop Osial enumerated – this is a violation of the rights of parents and children to bring up their offspring according to their own religious beliefs. And thirdly –  the hierarch noted, "the Ministry of National Education does not see the great value of religious education for the integral upbringing of young people".

Bishop Osial noted that the Polish Episcopate is taking all legal measures to defend religious education. "We want to use all legal possibilities, in accordance with the law. We want to use what the law allows us to do" – he stressed.

The hierarch pointed out that the bishops support all initiatives that defend religious education. He recalled that when it comes to primary schools, nationally 86% of parents ask for religious education for theirr children. "This is not a small part of society" – he acknowledged.

Work on the establishment of a Commission of independent experts continues

Archbishop Wojciech Polak, Primate of Poland and Delegate of the Polish Bishops' Conference for the Protection of Children and Young People, pointed to a number of works that the Delegate's Office is undertaking, including the implementation of the standards of the Act of Kamilek, the training of bishops on Vatican guidelines.

Archbishop Polak acknowledged that a detailed issue on the subject, which the bishops had taken up, was the draft of principles for the establishment and functioning of a Commission of independent experts to investigate the sexual abuse of minors in the Catholic Church in Poland, which he himself had submitted to the bishops. He added that prior to the Plenary Assembly, this was accompanied by an opinion from the Legal Council of the Polish Bishops' Conference and the bishops also worked on this topic in groups. "For the first time, the bishops, as the first body, received a concrete text prepared on which they could work, make comments on it" – Archbishop Polak pointed out. He added that in the debate there was also an opportunity to clarify in detail many issues "which are not easy, but must be taken up with the Church law in force today, the state law, in accordance with the basic principle of what such a Commission is meant to serve".

At the same time, Archbishop Polak stressed that the Commission's purpose was to draw up a report "in order to be able to respond competently to the very phenomenon of the abuse of children and young people". He acknowledged that after years of preparing the system, "we now need a certain holistic view". "The primary objective will be to develop a report that shows this phenomenon in its various faces" – he explained.

Archbishop Polak stressed that "the Polish Bishops’ Conference passed a specific resolution agreeing to continue work on the establishment and rules of operation of the Commission of independent experts to investigate the phenomenon of sexual abuse of minors in the Catholic Church in Poland from 1945 until the creation of the Commission, taking into account the comments that have been made on these documents". He acknowledged that the comments were detailed and that after the debates, the bishops would receive them in writing so that they could work on them further. At the same time, he added, this is a complicated work, as it takes place in three bodies: The Polish Bishops' Conference, the major superiors of male religious orders and the major superiors of female religious congregations.

Supporting priests in a particular situation

Bishop Damian Bryl, President of the Team of the Polish Bishops' Conference for the Preparation of Guidelines for the Permanent Formation and Ministry of Presbyters in Poland, spoke about the formation of presbyters. He acknowledged that the Team has been active for two years and "measures itself by reflecting on the life, ministry and formation of ordained priests". "We are committed to supporting priests in a skilful way, to accompany them, to help them in difficult situations" – he pointed out.

"We had the opportunity to present this work, which has already been happening for two years. On the one hand, we have presented to the bishops the results of the research carried out by the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University and the Institute for Catholic Church Statistics project, what our priests are like and what they need. What we are proposing, we want it to correspond to their real situation, to what they are experiencing. We want to accompany specific priests in a specific situation" – explained the hierarch.

"We want to invite our priests to personal development towards maturity, which we understand in all dimensions, above all in the human dimension and in the spiritual dimension. We are also committed to a solid intellectual formation of priests. And also community and missionary formation to go out further with the Good News" – Bishop Bryl noted.

Press Office of the Polish Bishops' Conference