AT THE CHRISTMAS TABLE OF A WORD
Fr. IRENEUSZ SKUBIŚ
Dear Friends!
Today I want to prepare a long table laid with a white table cloth for all of you. It is the table of the ‘Sunday’ which is being built by this magazine, all his authors and readers. This table is long because it reaches to the hearts of all Polish readers of the ‘Sunday’ and goes through cities and villages not only of our Homeland but also many countries in which Polonia live.
For over 30 years we have been building this table under my supervision inviting millions of people to it. This table of the ‘Sunday’ united us in the 80s, marked with the closures of censorship which did not allow to write what we wanted and which people were reading from these signs despite it. I remember when during the death of blessed Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko, in one of the articles there were 14 interferences of censorship on this issue! There were many such ‘pieces’ during the last 10 years of our work.
Then other times and new challenges came, and we were still building our table of the Word with great care and love. First of all, we were trying to tell people the truth, always in the spirit of respect and love to Readers. Many authors were sitting at this table, as well as specialists in the sphere of many issues, who wanted one thing: the Reader of this magazine to enrich himself, so that he would receive practical help and light through the ‘Sunday’, in the difficulties of everyday life. We have been trying to provide our Readers with the best journalistic service. However we have not always been well understood, because a lot of people are still preventing the Catholic word from reaching the social consciousness.
And this is our great pain that so many good initiatives, so much good information are put off to granary or simply killed in the core. It would be better if people did not know about some issues, and did not have any knowledge about what is really happening today – it is the result of the action of our dissidents in reference to Catholic mass media. Due to this problem, it is easier to manipulate the human consciousness, telling people what one wants to say or what ‘must’ be said. Therefore in our public space of mass media sometimes one feels that there is neither Christianity nor the Church with its teaching and that there is only one right social opinion.
The fact is astonishing that to much extent, today journalists in contemporary Europe decide about the presence of Christianity, who say that they are Christians or Catholics but they are afraid to stand by the Church and the flame of faith is not seen among them. What are the reasons for this phenomenon? Does only money decide about it? After all, we knew in the last days of the pontificate of John Paul II that the journalistic world can be different, that it can co-think and co-feel with others, that it can free so much good. Why is it different now?...
The pastoral year 2012/2013 is the Year of Faith. On our table of the ‘Sunday’ we will find important words and statements in this sphere. Broadening the knowledge about faith is a particular purpose which accompanies us, the present authors of the weekly ‘Sunday’. However, we also want enter the reality of the life of contemporary Catholics, watch carefully our ‘now’ and draw conclusions for ‘tomorrow’, mainly for Poland and Poles.
We are thinking about the young generation, therefore we will find also pages in the ‘Sunday’ designed for the young Reader, with his problems and what is to cheer him up. From time to time, there is also a supplement ‘Not only for a senior’ published. The ‘Sunday’ expresses its attitude towards the whole social reality, including politics because in these dimensions a Catholic man lives. It is a newspaper answering many questions which can be asked by every thinking man. In addition we have this great advantage that we are free creators, that no power from outside does not have any influence on us; we are free in our reflections, analysis and opinions and this freedom can be noticed on every page of the ‘Sunday’. We are subjected to one thing – the Chief: the Queen of Poland and Mother of Word is guarding us from Jasna Góra in which we see the Main Editor of our newspaper. Therefore during the Jasna Góra Appeal, which I conduct as the chief editor of the ‘Sunday’ once a month, we submit our intentions to Maryja, praying also for our all Readers.
(AA)
"Niedziela" 52-53/2012