Polish Government on Collision Course with Church

When the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) of Prime Minister Leszek Miller came to power in 2001, it pledged to defend sexual minorities and give women the right to a safe abortion. But last week, when several social democratic lawmakers proposed giving basic legal rights to gays and easing Poland’s tough anti-abortion laws, the head of Poland’s influential Roman Catholic Church criticized the ruling party for its moral laxity.

"It is something very depressing for me, as it is something incompatible with human nature," Cardinal Jozef Glemp told a meeting of Polish bishops. "I just can’t stand men kissing. Maybe I’m old-fashioned." His opposition to abortion was just as vehement. He said terminations of pregnancy "amounted to murder."

The case illustrates the wrenching jolt Polish society is undergoing as it stands poised on the door to EU membership and prepares to join a union dominated by western European countries which have societies that are generally more permissive and more secular than deeply Catholic Poland.

Strong faith, strong traditions

In comparison with its western neighbors, Poland is indeed a socially conservative country and much of that can be traced to the Roman Catholic Church. More than 90 percent of Poles say they are Catholic. Although church attendance is much lower than that, the institution still plays an important role in daily life. Pope John Paul II, a Pole himself, is a source of great pride for the country and many share his conservative stances on social issues.

The attempts of some left-leaning lawmakers to enact laws that go against Catholic teaching represent for many a return to the days of Communism, when atheism was the belief system favored by the state.

"Some SLD politicians are returning to the old Lenin traditions, a time when tactics were more important than values, than a solid program, than respect for human life," said Archbishop Jozef Zycinski of Lublin.

Political strategy

He and others accuse the government of using the proposed legislation to distract voters from political problems the SLD is facing. The government has been enduring a long slide in the polls owing to persistently high unemployment of around 18 percent, poor economic management and scandals involving members of the SLD leadership. The 2004 draft budget which was recently introduced has also met with generally negative reactions.

Some analysts say that Prime Minister Miller is offering the socially progressive legislative proposals as a carrot for leftist members of his party in order to get them to sign on to a controversial economic program put forward by the nation’s economics minister, Jerzy Hausner. In an echo of recent events in neighboring Germany, several Polish members of the SLD have balked at supporting the economic plan, which includes tax reductions for businesses and cuts in the social welfare system.

Although the SLD made its initial promises regarding gays and abortions before the 2001 election, the government largely let the issues lie dormant during campaigning for a referendum last June over whether to join the European Union in 2004. The government won church backing for EU accession and Polish voters overwhelmingly voted to join the bloc.

Now a group of SLD politicians says it’s time the government cashed in on its promises. They point to European Parliament statements urging Poland to ease its abortion laws, which allow the termination of a pregnancy only in the case of a threat to a mother’s life or health or when it results from rape or incest, or if the fetus is damaged. Many EU countries have passed laws which provide legal recognition of homosexual relationships, mainly concerning tax law, inheritance, health insurance and hospital visitation rights. Some countries such as Germany allow marriage or legal unions between people of the same sex.

Ready or not?

But it is unclear whether Poland’s socially conservative populace is ready for such changes, or even if the SLD leadership backs them.

"These will be very difficult decisions. I am not sure that in the end there will be enough determination in the party to take them," SLD pro-abortion rights deputy Izabela Sierakowska told Reuters.

But some activists say the politicians and church leaders do not speak for all Poles, especially when it comes to abortion. Wanda Nowicka, head of the Committee for Women and Family Planning, said a joint protest action over abortion this summer with Polish feminists and the Dutch organization Women on Waves had brought the issue to the forefront.

"Opinion polls this year have shown that 61 percent are in favor of loosening the restrictive laws," she said.