POLSKA I STOLICA APOSTOLSKA PRZED ROKOWANIAMI NAD KONKORDATEM
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Date
2006
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Wydział Prawa i Administracji UAM
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POLAND AND THE HOLY SEE BEFORE THE NEGOTIATIONS ON THE 1993 CONCORDAT
Abstract
Between October 1989 and March 1993, contacts between Poland and the Holy See prepared
the ground for the negotiations which culminated in the signing of the Concordat agreement on
28 July 1993.
After the breakthrough of 1989, both Prime Minister T. Mazowiecki and President L. Wałęsa
chose the Holy See as the first port of call of their official visits. In so doing they emphasised the
role of Pope John Paul II and the Catholic Church in Poland's emancipation.
A draft convention on the relations between Poland and the Holy See already existed as a result
of talks between the Communist Government and the Polish Episcopate in 1987-1988. When
the breakthrough occurred, negotiations had not yet reached the level of the Holy See. The draft
convention, however, became irrelevant when the political situation in Poland changed and the
Communist Party lost power, which meant that a new text had to be drafted. The Holy See suggested
that discussions on that text be postponed. Nonetheless, in the talks between the new Government
and the Holy See, both sides continued to systematically emphasise the need for
a concordat. Those talks resulted in a common vision on the relations between the State and the
Church. Both parties agreed that the State and the Church, though independent and autonomous,
would work together towards the development of the human being and for the common good. This
common stand paved the way for a concordat.
The Holy See submitted a draft of a concordat in October 1991. In the same year general elections
were held in Poland but political instability in 1992 delayed discussions on it. Poland submitted
its draft in March 1993 and suggested that draft as the basis for negotiations. The Holy See
accepted that suggestion and negotiations started on 3 April 1993
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Ruch Prawniczy, Ekonomiczny i Socjologiczny 68, 2006, z. 2, s. 267-273.