Pope to face ecumenical and social questions in Poland
-25/05/06
Pope Benedict XVI, the
Pope to face ecumenical and social questions in Poland
-25/05/06
Pope Benedict XVI, the leader of the worldís 1.5 billion Catholics, begins his apostolic trip to Poland today, following last August 2005’s visit to Germany.
He will back the role of the church in a changing society, but will also face challenges about ecumenism, charges of anti-Semitism against sections of the Catholic Church, and questions about the public role of faith in a secular society.
Between 25 and 28 May 2006, the pontiff will visit Warsaw, Czestochowa, Krakow, Wadowice, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, and Auschwitz. He is due to pay a courtesy visit to the president of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, at the presidential palace.
As well as meeting Catholic clergy, the Pope will go to the Lutheran church of the Most Holy Trinity where he is due to meet with delegates of the seven Churches form the Polish Ecumenical Council – established in 1946 by a Lutheran pastor, Zygmunt Mitchelis – and with representatives of other faith communities.
The Lutheran church of the Most Holy Trinity was built in 1781 in a poor area on the outskirts of Warsaw. In 1939, during the Second World War, its wooden dome was destroyed, to be replaced some years later with a steel one.
However, the communist authorities prohibited the use of the church as a place of worship and banned the placement of a cross atop the dome. The building was used as a concert hall. At the end on the Stalinist era, in 1956, the evangelical community was able to recoup its church.
The pontiff has a hard act to follow. His predecessor John Paul II was Polish and played a key spiritual role in ending military rule in the country.
Some Poles might also feel uncomfortable about the fact that Benedict is German and briefly served in the Hitler Youth, even though membership was obligatory and his condemnation of Nazism and the Holocuast has been unequivocal.
Secular critics will also argue that the Church has become increasingly authoritarian since its re-ascendency, and that a different balance needs to be struck between religion and social order.
The Pope in turn has argued that consumerism and materialism is making people more dissatisfied and divided.
Polish Catholics have urged the closure of pornography shops and call-girl agencies in Warsaw as a mark of respect for Benedict XVI.
“We feel demoralised that there are so many sex-shops on the very city-centre street that bears our pope’s name,” Anna Borkowska, a leader of Poland’s Light-Life Movement, told the Zycie Warszawy daily newspaper.
She added: “We are against this, and we want the city authorities to know that these shops are disturbing us. John Paul II always defended human dignity.”
But others argue that censorship will not make social problems and the exploitation of women go away.
[Also on Ekklesia: Papal envoy criticizes anti-Semitic radio broadcast; Leader of nonviolent Polish struggle to be honoured; Marta and the Manger Straw: A Christmas Tradition from Poland; East German secret police spied on future pope; A History of Polish Christianity; European and US churches offer fresh support to immigrants; World mourns Pope of greatness and contradiction; Churches strongly condemn anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial]
Pope to face ecumenical and social questions in Poland
-25/05/06
Pope Benedict XVI, the leader of the worldís 1.5 billion Catholics, begins his apostolic trip to Poland today, following last August 2005’s visit to Germany.
He will back the role of the church in a changing society, but will also face challenges about ecumenism, charges of anti-Semitism against sections of the Catholic Church, and questions about the public role of faith in a secular society.
Between 25 and 28 May 2006, the pontiff will visit Warsaw, Czestochowa, Krakow, Wadowice, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, and Auschwitz. He is due to pay a courtesy visit to the president of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, at the presidential palace.
As well as meeting Catholic clergy, the Pope will go to the Lutheran church of the Most Holy Trinity where he is due to meet with delegates of the seven Churches form the Polish Ecumenical Council – established in 1946 by a Lutheran pastor, Zygmunt Mitchelis – and with representatives of other faith communities.
The Lutheran church of the Most Holy Trinity was built in 1781 in a poor area on the outskirts of Warsaw. In 1939, during the Second World War, its wooden dome was destroyed, to be replaced some years later with a steel one.
However, the communist authorities prohibited the use of the church as a place of worship and banned the placement of a cross atop the dome. The building was used as a concert hall. At the end on the Stalinist era, in 1956, the evangelical community was able to recoup its church.
The pontiff has a hard act to follow. His predecessor John Paul II was Polish and played a key spiritual role in ending military rule in the country.
Some Poles might also feel uncomfortable about the fact that Benedict is German and briefly served in the Hitler Youth, even though membership was obligatory and his condemnation of Nazism and the Holocuast has been unequivocal.
Secular critics will also argue that the Church has become increasingly authoritarian since its re-ascendency, and that a different balance needs to be struck between religion and social order.
The Pope in turn has argued that consumerism and materialism is making people more dissatisfied and divided.
Polish Catholics have urged the closure of pornography shops and call-girl agencies in Warsaw as a mark of respect for Benedict XVI.
“We feel demoralised that there are so many sex-shops on the very city-centre street that bears our pope’s name,” Anna Borkowska, a leader of Poland’s Light-Life Movement, told the Zycie Warszawy daily newspaper.
She added: “We are against this, and we want the city authorities to know that these shops are disturbing us. John Paul II always defended human dignity.”
But others argue that censorship will not make social problems and the exploitation of women go away.
[Also on Ekklesia: Papal envoy criticizes anti-Semitic radio broadcast; Leader of nonviolent Polish struggle to be honoured; Marta and the Manger Straw: A Christmas Tradition from Poland; East German secret police spied on future pope; A History of Polish Christianity; European and US churches offer fresh support to immigrants; World mourns Pope of greatness and contradiction; Churches strongly condemn anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial]