With courage of Fr. Skarga towards the future
Fr. Ireneusz Skubiś
The success of Palikot’s political party revealed that in Poland there are some people who express their reluctance towards the Church. It may be not ordinary but organized reluctance. This reluctance – not to say hatred – had been expressed towards the Church for 50 years. The communist system expressed its extreme hatred towards the God and clergy. Therefore, the Bolsheviks were aiming at liquidation of the clergy, both the Orthodox and the Catholic ones. Certainly, different totalitarianism – Nazism also treated everything what is Christian and Catholic, with contempt.
Potential of the Catholic nation
The years of the Polish People’s Republic were the times of anti-ecclesiastical propaganda, atheistic upbringing, selective teaching of History and quiet prosecution of the Church: surveillance, favouring belonging to a party, blackmail, and ruses which have their epilogue in studies of the Institute of the National Memory today. And the time of ‘Solidarity’ came, the time of this excellent Polish bloodless revolution and also the time of John Paul’s II pontificate. We found ourselves among the nations of Europe which said communism the resolute: ‘No!’ this naturally born strength was so strong that commissions of political parties collapsed and we all realized this potential of the Catholic nation.
We were trying to come out of this difficult post-communist reality in different ways. It resulted in the round table, being – as we see it clearly today – result of some combinations which were supposed to guarantee good existence to the class connected with Polish United Labour Party (Pol. PZPR) in a new system. It happened so. At the time when we nearly choked on the ideas of ‘Solidarity’, when poetry of liberation was created, when needing the truth and freedom, we were preparing meetings, concerts, spectacles truly patriotic, communist elites were organized in a specific and effective way. They were prepared to govern, they had children educated at universities of Europe and America, who knew languages – we were taught only Russian – they had knowledge, money and predominated over the society. The nation was alone, luckily with its beloved Pope John Paul II, with bishops together with Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, with deeply sowed spirit of love towards homeland.
Intentions of the governing people
After twenty years since the famous elections of the year 1989, it is seen, unfortunately, that the famous economic reforms of Balcerowicz did not pass their exam and that we practically lost the majority of the national wealth and if it was not for emigration we would not simply be able to survive. The issue, which additionally makes it difficult to come out of this deadlock, is the seizure of Polish media by post-communists and foreigners. Politicians of political parties’ apparatus knew well what significance media have in governing the nation, therefore, many of them found their workplace and quite big money in editorial offices of new newspapers, in the shadow of television cameras and microphones. It is Poles’ treason – again for a worthless mammon. Consciences, morals and honesty have gone forgotten.
We were experiencing other elections with various luck but priests were controlled at this occasion the most, so that they would not accidentally say ‘too much’ or help people realize the situation. It is interesting that some priests, even bishops sometimes stood on the guard of this ‘clarity of ecclesiastical teaching’, as if they had stopped understanding that they were supposed to serve the whole nation and not only its part which copes with everything very well. In this way many people, by using different tricks of socio-technics, found their place in the parliament. In consequence, we found out about other scandals revealed, among the others, by commissions of the Seym, corruption of different types had place on high posts. As ordinary people, we did not know what its space was but president Lech Kaczyński was aiming at reducing it. So he met with mockery, slander and criticism. And it had not been until the Smolensk tragedy when a real picture of his person was showed.
We do not know what fate of our homeland will be but we notice that it is not good. The recent dispositions referring to the re-funding of medicaments are the best evidence that the authorities do not respect people. This drama is also connected with inefficiency of the health service – too long waiting for necessary medical examinations and complicated procedure of treatment. Nobody considers the fact that we deal with an ill person. And there are many such situations, nobody wants to admit his fault, or to take responsible steps towards social life healing and functioning of ancillary institutions towards a citizen. What are really the intentions of the governing people? Do they really care about the fate of the nation? Do they realize the consequence?
In the defence of Catholic media
We are also shocked by the recent pronouncement of the member of the National Radio and Television Council – Krzysztof Luft, who referred to the fact that the Television ‘Trwam’ had not received concession on the platform of the multiplex. Fr. Dr. Tadeusz Rydzyk evaluated his pronouncement as ‘the lie of lies’. We are surprised that people, who used to work in Catholic media, are not trying to refer to the issue of the whole nation in an objective and democratic way or the Church who often saved them from oppression. We do not demand privileges but we have a right to ask for: honesty, non-lateral justice – for normality; because whether someone likes it or not, Poland is a Christian country. Poland must still be converted in order to give a testimony of Jesus Gospel and sing a hymn about real freedom and democracy to Europe, but the faith in God in Poland is not so bad. So, with the help of Blessed John Paul II, we will not allow Mr. Palikot impose his option of the nation without God or morality on Poles. According to the words of the Polish ecclesiastical song ‘we will not let our faith get destroyed’, we will not undergo any illusions coming from false prophets. So let’s think more about our Polish matters today in the Year of Priest Piotr Skarga. Let’s look at this excellent Polish priest who truly loved our homeland and bravely reminded about our good morality. And let this time be the time of victory for Poland and Poles.
(AA)
"Niedziela" 04/2012