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Polish church unveils integration policy for migrant Catholics
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<a rel="author" href="https://www.catholicregister.org/home/international/itemlist/user/2402-catholicnewsservice">Catholic News Service</a>
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April 27, 2018 </span>
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WARSAW, Poland (CNS) – Poland's Catholic bishops said they no longer
have enough clergy to minister to Poles living abroad and urged
emigrant Catholics to integrate more with the church in other countries.<br>
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<br>"Even with a very large group of Polish priests, it isn't
possible to reach in a timely way every place where Poles are found,"
said the Warsaw-based bishops' conference.<br><br>"Your witness of faith
will positively influence believers from other national groups,
especially those belonging to local church communities. Bishops in other
countries count on such help from Polish Catholics."<br><br>In a
pastoral letter to be read at Polish Masses abroad April 29, the bishops
thank the 2,000 Polish priests and nuns currently ministering to Poles
worldwide, and laypeople assisting with liturgical, educational,
cultural and charitable work.<br><br>They thanked local bishops who had
shown "openness and understanding" by making places of worship available
and ensuring conditions for Polish-language pastoral work, but said
Poles should now also attend Mass in the language of their country of
residence.<br><br>"A mature patriotism has nothing to do with
nationalism or closing off from other cultures and traditions – nor with
today's increasingly fashionable internationalism, blurring the
difference between particular nations," said the letter, marking the
centenary of Poland's 1918 independence.<br><br>"Recognizing the unity
of faith and your responsibility for the church, you should now make
efforts to maintain good, regular contacts with Catholics of other
nationalities. ... Promote Polish culture, defend Poland's good name,
and maintain personal and institutional contact with the homeland. But
also respect the country which has accepted you and given you work."<br><br>The
Polish church runs missions or pastoral networks in 25 countries, by
agreement with local bishops' conferences, catering for the religious
needs of around 15 million Poles whose families left after World War II,
the early 1980s Solidarity movement and Poland's 2004 accession to the
European Union.<br><br>In France and Germany, where Polish missions have
operated since the 1830s, 236 Polish priests currently minister to a
combined Polish population of 3 million, while in the U.S., Polish
clergy work at over 300 parishes.<br><br>In a January 2007 pastoral
letter, the Warsaw bishops' conference said Polish parishes and missions
were often "the only centers for Polish identity and culture" and urged
Poles to seek out their own priests when abroad.<br><br>However, in
August 2016, Archbishop Wojciech Polak of Gniezno told Catholic News
Service Polish priests contracted to foreign dioceses often had trouble
understanding local conditions, while a current decline in vocations
would limit clergy available for mission work.<br><br>The Polish
church's delegate for Catholics abroad, Auxiliary Bishop Wieslaw
Lechowicz of Tarnow, told CNS April 26 that the 2007 pastoral had
reflected the needs of a "very large number" of Poles who had left after
their country's EU accession. He said many faced language and
adaptation problems best tackled "in a climate of faith and tradition
brought from the homeland."<br><br>However, he added that the situation
had now improved, removing "barriers impeding contact with local church
representatives and communities."<br><br>"It's important next-generation
Polish emigrants not only know the Gospel and church teaching well, but
also experience the faith not just in Polish-language communities –
they mustn't associate the church only with Polish communities," Bishop
Lechowicz said.<br><br>The bishop said Polish church leaders were aware
Polish parishes came under a diocesan bishop's jurisdiction, adding that
forms of contact and cooperation were carefully defined.<br><br>New
Polish church guidelines are expected to outline priorities for Polish
clergy abroad, to prevent disputes over jurisdictional issues and access
to local churches, as well as over the separate practices of some
Polish communities.<br><br>However, the rector of the Polish Catholic
Mission in England and Wales, Msgr. Stefan Wylezek, told CNS April 25
that many Poles found English-language Masses cold, compared to their
own "expressive, devotional piety."<br><br>He added that the church's
canon law allowed Catholics to pray and worship in their own language
and said full integration would "take one or two generations."<br><br>"There
are no foreigners in the church – we are all one and, for me, mixed
parishes offer the best hope," said Msgr. Wylezek, whose London-based
mission has 217 parishes and pastoral centers, with 120 Polish priests.<br><br>"But
we can't order this by decree; we have to devote time and effort to
organizing and building our church communities, with all our cultures
and backgrounds, so people can grow in faith." </div></div>
<br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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