On Saturday, at the Temple of Divine Providence, under the leadership of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Warsaw Cardinal Kazimierz Nycza catechesis session was held for all school teachers – priests, religious and lay people of the Archdiocese of Warsaw.
Cardinal Nycz: If one side is deaf…
Cardinal Nycz said that for 15 years, as part of the KEP, he participated in talks with the government about catechesis and religion in schools, and although “rvarious political options governed in the country, including the SLD, talks with representatives of the authorities have always been fruitful. Meanwhile, they are currently unilateral“. If one side is deaf, the other side, no matter how hard they try, will not be heard. – he said.
We want to talk, we want to reach an understanding, but the only way is through various types of media.. And why there is always the temptation of so-called revengeoften the side that has no voice also resorts to social media. In the meantime, this does not lead to anything good – said the hierarch.
The Metropolitan of Warsaw emphasized that “what is happening now has nothing to do with what is called negotiations“, hence, as noted, the cooperation of the Polish Episcopate with lawyers and the petition of the Presidium of the Episcopate and the Polish Ecumenical Council to the Supreme Court in connection with the regulation of the Minister of National Education concerning religion classes.
According to the authors of these petitions, among others: In issuing the regulation, the Minister of Education limited himself to giving representatives of churches and other interested associations the opportunity to express their opinions.while art. 12. section 2 of the Education System Act requires the competent minister to act “in consultation with the authorities of the Catholic Church and the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church and other Churches and religious associations” when issuing a regulation specifying the conditions and method of organizing religious education.
On August 29, the Constitutional Court accepted the request of the First President of the Supreme Court and issued it a protective resolution, suspending the application of the regulation of the Ministry of National Education on the conditions for organizing religion classes in schools.
Cardinal Nycz: In all normal countries…
In any normal country that respects constitutional institutions, after a decision by the Constitutional Court, the case would cease to exist. We do not know what will happen in Poland, because respect for the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court is what it is..Therefore, there may be confusion surrounding the issue of catechesis. – said the Cardinal again.
He appealed to religious teachers to remain calm. We must look at the situation calmly, following the path that was traced for us by our vocation. – he declared.
Cardinal Nycz: Poland also needs to mature for this
The hierarch highlighted that “In many countries, even much more secularized than Poland, the theme of a spiritual and moral nature is recognized as a necessary element in the formation of the young generation“. Poland must also accept this – he assessed.
He emphasized that “As long as the concordat is in force in Poland, no one will eliminate the presence of religion classes in schools“. There may be a discussion about its form at most – he said.
The Metropolitan of Warsaw also highlighted that Some time ago, the Church presented a proposal to adopt a solution of one hour of religion classes per week and one hour of catechesis in the parish.. We are aware that in the current reality, with the multitude of extracurricular activities, it will not be possible to complete three hours per week – he said.
He reported that Two teams work within the Polish Episcopal Conference – one prepares the basic curriculum and textbooks for religion classes at school and the other prepares the catechesis program in parishes.
Cardinal Nycz: There is a shortage of catechists in many dioceses
Cardinal Nycz also drew attention to shortage of staff among religion teachers. In many dioceses, including the Archdiocese of Warsaw, there is a shortage of catechists. For example, in our country the shortage is as high as 150 people. If there are no successors, then no one will have to expel us from schools, we will just withdraw – said the Metropolitan of Warsaw.
He also announced that they are planned in many dioceses catechist trainingnecessary to carry out parish catechesis.
During the Mass that preceded the lecture, Cardinal Nycz recalled that “The essence of the mission of a catechist or religion teacher is to constantly preach the word of God.“, and “catechesis is one of the basic forms of preaching in the Church.”
Cardinal Nycz: We cannot allow this to be thrown away from us…
Do not be persuaded that what we have to say about God and the Church is small and unnecessary. (…) We cannot allow ourselves to be deprived of what Christ has called us to do and sent us to do. – appealed the Metropolitan Archbishop of Warsaw to catechists.
He admitted that although the vocation of religion teacher and catechist in the Catholic Church is one of them, School education is one thing and parish catechesis is another.
It may be that a substantially excellent religion teacher in school is an agnostic or describes himself as not very religious, but in catechesis the testimony of faith is necessary– said the Cardinal again.
Announcement of the Constitutional Court’s decision by Julia Przyłębska
President of the Constitutional Court Julia Przyłębska announced on Thursday in an interview with the wPolsce.pl portal that the Constitutional Court has granted the request of the First President of the Supreme Court and issued a preliminary ruling, suspending the application of the amendment to the regulation of the Minister of Education on the conditions for organizing religious classes. She also announced that in the near future The Court will decide on the Regulation.
Position of the Ministry of National Education on the decision of the Constitutional Court
On Friday, the Ministry of National Education published on its website position on the decision of the Constitutional Courtaccording to which the decision issued by the Court does not produce legal effects. The regulation was issued in accordance with the law and has general application from September 1, 2024 – states the position of the Ministry of National Education.
July the change in the regulations expanded the possibilities for organizing the teaching of religion and ethics in interclass and interclass classes, also composed of students who had not been previously combined in these classes with students from other departments or classes. According to him, the head of the school (nursery) will be able to group children from departments or classes in which seven or more students are enrolled in religious education. At the same time, it was stipulated that in primary schools, students of grades I-III or IV-VI or VII and VIII can be brought together in one group. The maximum number of people who can participate in classes was also specified: in grades I-III of primary schools it is 25, for the rest of students of all types of schools – 28. The same applies to ethics classes.
In March this year, the Sejm adopted a resolution on eliminating the effects of the constitutional crisis of 2015-2023 and stated that “taking into account the activities of a public authority, decisions of the Constitutional Court rendered in violation of the law may be considered a violation of the principle of legalism on the part of such bodies.” At the end of July, the Sejm adopted two laws aimed at reforming the Constitutional CourtAmendments to these acts have been introduced by the Senate and are currently awaiting consideration by the Sejm. Work is underway in the Senate on a draft constitutional amendment concerning the Constitutional Tribunal. Since the adoption of the Sejm resolution, the judgments of the Constitutional Tribunal have not been published in the Journal of Laws.
