When 'during the People's Republic of Poland', the 3rd of May was not a public holiday - but was a church celebration, absent from the official calendars but highly honoured by citizens remembering pre-war times - words from Jasna Góra were always heard.

It was not only the faithful, for whom it was not necessary to explain what Jasna Góra was, who listened, but also its opponents and system functionaries, for it was not only in the People's Republic that the ceremony was forbidden. The invaders and occupying powers in Poland also made sure that neither the 3rd May Constitution nor the memory of the vows of King Jan Kazimierz were present in official circulation - not in Polish life, education or culture. But they were there anyway, and they had an impact, for which all those who kept these memories alive deserve praise and honour. And I do not mean just the poets and painters, but the crowds of ordinary people who, after a day's hard work, often went to church on the evening of 3 May, because it was, after all, the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary Queen of Poland.

What has remained from those times is the unwritten conviction that May festivities are traditionally a good time for important speeches and sermons, for appeals and statements. It would seem that today, the sermons of bishops are 'on the lookout' mainly for various commentators, often intent on finding words with which to launch attacks or even malicious remarks against the Church. But after all, these important homilies or appeals are given and Catholics should know about them, especially when they concern public affairs, civic life and the common good. This is, after all, what the Catechism of the Catholic Church ( KKK) teaches.

Unknown paragraph

This time, the bishops as the Polish Bishops' Conference gathered at Jasna Góra on the eve of the May holidays - the Blessed Virgin Mary Queen of Poland and the Constitution of 3 May - not only for prayer, but also for a meeting. The fruit of their deliberations is the 'Position of the Permanent Council of the Polish Bishops' Conference in the context of the forthcoming elections'. And in it there is an appeal "to politicians of all parties to avoid the temptation of demagogy and populism, ruthless discrediting of opponents or saturating the already deep divisions with unnecessary emotions in their electoral rivalry, in the name of responsibility for the fate of our homeland. We must all remember that the aim of electoral competition is to elect a government that enjoys the widest possible support and that can energetically serve all Poles, and not to defeat, let alone destroy, political rivals" (all quotes after Catholic News Agency -KAI).

There is also a clear appeal "to all participants in the election campaign to refrain from instrumentalising the Church, which can take the form of both unauthorised use of the Church in the partisan games of individual parties, as well as unfair stigmatisation, aimed solely at anticlerical emotions. We have already publicly emphasised more than once that the Church is not on the side of the right, the left or the centre, because the Church has its own side; the Church must stand on the side of the Gospel".

There is no doubt that the 'Position on the forthcoming elections' will be regarded by some as 'interference in politics', by others as the absence of a position on politics, by still others as a false start, because we are nowhere near the autumn, and by still others as idle talk that contributes nothing. Well, let's not be fooled, let's not be told that the Church is meddling in politics again, or that it's just idle talk.

"Citizens should, as far as possible, take an active part in public life. The ways of this participation may vary, depending on the country or culture. The conduct of those nations in which the largest possible number of citizens participate in public affairs under conditions of genuine freedom deserves praise."

SIGN UP TO OUR PAGE The above quote is not a speech by a political scientist, let alone a politician (although it would be nice if politicians knew the passage and could quote it, and even more so apply it). Nor is it a passage from some university textbook. No, this is paragraph 1915 of the KKK. It is clear and succinct, you might say: straight to the point. And it explains right away why the bishops not only can exhort the faithful to go to the polls, but even should. This is what the common good requires - it too is defined in the Catechism. The common good is a concrete value in the Church's social doctrine, which Catholics are obliged to know - and observe. That they often fail to live up to it is another matter. But no one can say that the call to participate in public life is meddling in politics.

The bishops also appealed to the media, especially to those who: "they are responsible for the shape of the Polish media, so that journalists working in them have the conditions to provide reliable information to society and to build a culture of dialogue. This applies first and foremost to the public media, which should be a model for others in this respect, but also to the private ones, also endowed with social trust and the resulting responsibility".

However, let me remind you and emphasise that it is not only the public media that have a mission, but also the private ones have an obligation to fulfil a public mission. Perhaps at first the two postulates sound alike, but I assure you it is not the same thing: there is a mission of the public media and there is a public mission of the media. Everyone will benefit from this knowledge if they are willing to equip themselves with it.

With his own voice

However, while the 'Position Paper' is a jointly elaborated voice of the bishops, the next two voices are individual, personal contributions by Archbishop Stanislaw Gądecki. He took the preaching opportunity to present the Church's not easy situations and even less easy - and indeed quite difficult - initiatives. Although he is the president of the Polish Bishops' Conference, he has spoken individually at least twice in the past year, without waiting to gather enough votes to allow him to speak as a group. Two letters are involved. The first to Archbishop Georg Bätzing, president of the German Bishops' Conference, with questions about the manoeuvres of the so-called synodal path of some German Catholics. And the second to the Patriarch Kirill of Moscow with an appeal for restraint in his support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

This time, Archbishop Stanislaw Gądecki, in a brief word after the Jasna Góra Appeal - broadcast on 2 May by TV Trwam - outlined his concerns and feelings after the European synodal meeting in Prague, held in the last days of February. "During this meeting, some demanded inclusion, that is, incorporation of homosexual persons, LGBT+, ordination of married men, ordination of women to the priesthood, participation in Holy Communion of divorced, remarried persons," Archbishop Gądecki said, not hiding that all these often lack the sensus fidei, or sense of faith. Catholics do not know the teaching of the Church. He also pointed out that "Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who is ending his ministry as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, warned us of schism in the Church, in connection with the emerging demands for reforms 'contrary to the continuity of the faith of the Church, to the Word of God, to the tradition of the Church'." Archbishop Gądecki also presented the opinion of the Archbishop of Stockholm, Cardinal Anders Arborelius, who "firmly rejected - as unbiblical - the view that the decisions of the majority are the same as the voice of the Holy Spirit". That is, he opposed the thesis that the majority decides!

Time for forgiveness

With his next point, Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki made an even more public appearance, if one may say so, because the Third May Solemn Mass from Jasna Góra is a truly great occasion, regardless of radio and television broadcasts. It was from Jasna Góra that Archbishop Gądecki pleaded for forgiveness and Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation on this special day of remembrance of the vows of King Jan Kazimierz, which, let us recall, were taken in Lvov Cathedral. He made this plea in view of the approaching - as he said - 80th anniversary of the massacre of Poles in Volhynia, which "urges us to take up the extremely difficult subject of Polish-Ukrainian forgiveness and reconciliation. At that time, tens of thousands of innocent people, including women, children and old people, primarily Poles, but also Ukrainians, and those who rescued endangered neighbours and relatives, became victims of crimes and ethnic cleansing. The sacrifice of their lives calls us to deep reflection, to fervent prayer for forgiveness and reconciliation."

Someone had to be the first to say it, and it seems that Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki took it upon himself to speak openly with this demand, reckoning with the various possible consequences of this speech. He recalled that "Christ also commands us to forgive, not three times or even seven times, but seventy-seven times, that is, always". He went on to explain that "in life, not everything can be resolved by justice. No. Where evil has to be put a limit, someone has to love more than necessary in order to start a new story of grace".

Monstrously difficult words, especially for those who still do not know where the graves of their murdered fathers, mothers, grandmothers and grandfathers, sisters and brothers are.

But, says Archbishop Gądecki, "those seeking to overcome the sense of hurt within themselves confuse forgiveness with reconciliation, whereas these are two different, though closely connected, experiences. Forgiveness precedes reconciliation; it is a necessary condition for true unity and harmony between people. Forgiveness has the character of an inner experience. It is a personal decision to forgive "our offenders" for all their transgressions and sins committed against us. It takes place in the depths of the heart and does not depend on the other person".

It seems that the Archbishop of Poznan has thought deeply about his proposal and, as a very experienced pastor, knows that it is no longer possible to wait. That is why he argues that "personal forgiveness of 'one's offender' is also possible when, for various reasons, one cannot yet be fully reconciled with him. It is also possible to forgive "our offender" even when he does not yet feel responsible for the wrong he has done and persists in an attitude of unkindness, resentment or hostility towards us. Forgiveness is always possible, because it depends solely on the decision of our hearts".

He also made an almost obvious, but not at all obvious, reference to the memorable, for many reasons, letter from the Polish bishops to the German ones, with the now famous phrase 'we grant forgiveness and ask for it'. Archbishop Gądecki did not recall how things were boiling over at the time, and not only because the Communist Party's campaign against the bishops was unleashed. But also because not all the 'people of God', not all Catholics, not all those who identified with the Church were prepared for this act. Today, can we consider that more than a year of remarkably - because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine - close contacts between Poles and Ukrainians has "settled" the matter of such preparation?

There is nothing naïve in Archbishop Gądecki's homily, there are no easy proposals, there is no rushing, there is no attempt to erase guilt, there is no impression that one is to fall into the embrace of the other. On the contrary, it is a very difficult text at times about how to go from a willingness to forgive in one's own heart to an attempt at reconciliation with another person. About the spiritual costs to be borne. About the pitfalls that lurk on this path: when there is no acknowledgement of guilt, when guilt is covered up, when there is a falsely concealed sense of wrong-doing.

Place and date

Archbishop Gądecki recalled John Paul II's visit to Lviv and his message on the matter at the time. The Polish pontiff said bluntly that "we feel a deep inner need to recognise the various manifestations of unfaithfulness to evangelical principles that were often committed by Christians of both Polish and Ukrainian origin living in these lands. It is time to move away from the painful past! But - he stressed - "Christians of both nations must walk together in the name of the one Christ".

Will Archbishop Gądecki's dramatic appeal be noticed? Listened to? Analysed? Taken up? Will work on it begin? In working teams or at any individual level, because "Christians of both nations must go together".

'Poland and Ukraine,' says Archbishop Gądecki bluntly, 'lands that have known the Gospel message for long centuries and have given countless testimonies to the holiness of so many of their daughters and sons, must finally say to each other: "we forgive and ask forgiveness". The balance sheet of history, taken from a Christian position, has become a balance sheet that cannot be compensated only from the perspective of legalistic justice. And once again John Paul II, who wrote that "justice alone is not enough, that - what is more - it can lead to the negation and annihilation of itself, if it does not allow that deeper power which is love to shape human life in its various dimensions".

Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki threw everything within reach into the fray: the place - from the throne of the Queen of Poland - and above all the date - Her feast day. In this way, as if obvious, he called on Her help. For we cannot manage on our own, and the matter is not only urgent. It is already most urgent. No one will deal with it for us, and if it is not dealt with, it will turn against us.

– Barbara Sułek-Kowalska
– Translated by Tomasz Krzyżanowski

TVP WEEKLY. Editorial team and jornalists