ARCHBISHOP GĄDECKI SUPPORTS AN APPEAL OF PARLIAMENTARIANS TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL TRIBUNAL
ARTUR STELMASIAK: - Niedziela.pl revealed a letter of 79 MPs to the chairperson of the Constitutional Tribunal Julia Przyłębska who demand on immediate work on a request about eugenic abortion. The appeal was signed by MPs mainly from the Law and Justice party which is 1/3 of the seym club of the governing party. How will Archbishop comment on this strong voice on the life protection?
ARCHBISHOP GĄDECKI: - It is a very positive sign as the human life is the basic value and a way to other human rights. It is good that there is such a big group of MPs whose conscience moved and they are appealing to the Constitutional Tribunal to carry out the issue of eugenic. After all, life protection was announced by the Law and Justice party in many election promises.
The whole jurisdiction reform and political battle were so that the Constitutional Tribunal would act according to law. And what is its attitude in this issue?
It is over a year we have been waiting for a verdict in this issue which is in the Tribunal. It does not give a good opinion on this reform. Also what is astonishing are the words of the press spokeswoman of the Law of Justice party, Beata Mazurek who says that the group of the concerned MPs are making a pressure on the Tribunal. It proves there are attempts to devaluate the righteous appeal of a big group of MPs.
- But MPs only claimed for working on and guarding the Constitution of the Republic of Poland by the Tribunal, they mean it should do its duties for which Poles pay to judges.
I think that awaiting and being impatient by the Catholics and electors of the governing party is enormous in this sense. Withdrawing from this promise by the Law and Justice party would be a serious conscience remorse, which will bring bad consequences to the party. After all, the bill draft by Kaja Godek StopAbortion was signed by even 830 thousand people and this vote cannot be ignored. Other thousand were working on this bill draft for a long time. They all are more and more impatient and disappointed.
These are often the same people were actively supporting the Law and Peace party in the election campaigns in 2015.
I suppose so, and the disappointment cause to electors by MPs is not a beneficial action for political reasons of holding the authority and the next election.
This is a political diagnosis. And what about the evangelical diagnosis? Every religious and honest person knows that life is the most important and it must be protected by all means.
Recently we have celebrated the anniversary of submitting the bill draft StopAbortion in the Seym which is supported by all Polish bishops. What is the opinion of the chairperson of the Polish Episcopal Conference?
It has been a year since the civil bill draft #StopAbortion was submitted and signed by 830 thousand people. Citizens of our country support this bill draft which excludes the eugenic premise. After all the right to life is not only the worldview issue, not only a religious law, but also the human right. It is unpleasant for us to see that human right to life in Poland is still breached. After all the human life is guarded by the very science and the USG equipment. It is seen how a baby in a mother’s womb smiles, yawns, cries, moves fingers and toes. We cannot be indifferent towards these scientific facts.
What else can people do about it?
We and other bishops are asking for a prayer, so that the established law would protect human life from conception to natural death. We address the request for this intention to all people of good will, particularly priests and nuns, as well as our compatriots in Poland and abroad.
The Catholic Social teachin emphasizes explicitly that a man cannot have two consciences: the private and the political ones.
One cannot leave one’s conscience behind the door of one’s political office as it would be schizophrenia. Undoubtedly life protection is the most important issue of the personal conscience of people who decide about it.
In 2016 Archbishop said that when the Law and Justice party rejected the bill draft of the complete protection of conceived life, that the issue of eugenic abortion will be a test of telling the truth by the most important politician in Poland.
Surely, this is a test on how seriously people treat political promises made to them.
Translated by Aneta Amrozik
Niedziela 49/2018 (9 XII 2018)