The Catholic Church in Poland

Extract

The Church and State in Poland are now passing through a period of relaxation. There are innumerable small changes that testify to this, but the most important are these:

• 1. Declarations by representatives of the Party and the Government have stressed equalirv of opportunity for each citizen regardless of his religion. The ultimate criteria in the evaluation of a worker are to be his work outlay, his capabilitv and his knowledge, and not his relationship to the Church.

• 2. The properties of the Catholic Church in the western territories were nationalized in 1961, and since then the Church has been in the position of tenant in that area. Now these properties have been returned. Elsewhere in Poland the Church remains the private owner of sacred objects and of small agricultural plots.

• 3. Talks between the episcopate and the Government, long suspended, have been resumed.

• 4. There has been some liberalization in the policy of taxation of the Church.

• 5. The policy of granting passports has been liberalized, and a greater number of permits are now being given to priests for trips to non-Communist countries either for scholarly purposes or in connection with agencies administered bv them.