The issue of the legal protection of life in the enunciations of the Conference of the Polish Episcopate in the years 1989–2010

Abstract

he purpose of this article is to present the issue of the legal protection of life in the light of the enunciations of the Conference of the Polish Episcopate in the years 1989–2010. It was an important element of the program of official statements of the Episcopal Conference, which recognized this issue as particularly important in an era of accelerated cultural changes. The Episcopal Conference also emphasized this issue should meet with particular interest on the part of the state. It strove to achieve respect for the inviolable right to life of every human being from the moment of conception. It stressed that this right is a fundamental moral value and an essential element of civilized society.
The problem of the liberalization or strengthening of regulations on abortion was the subject of many political campaigns in Poland in the nineties. The real attitudes of Poles towards abortion were shaped as a result of the confrontation of various ideological currents.
The Church does not permit dialogue on the fundamental issues covered by the principles of the social teaching of the Church, so its position cannot be flexible on these issues. The Episcopal Conference could not agree to the introduction of legislative changes that violate the laws of the Church and undermine its moral principles. Catholic values and moral principles cannot be a subject to any negotiations and there is no moral compromise towards them. Consequently, the Polish Bishops' Conference has always had an uncompromising attitude to the defence of life and the family as the basic unit of society, based on marriage between man and woman.