POLITICS IS A GREAT ART FOR MASTERS
During one of the Holy Masses, in the chapel of the House of St. Martha, the pope Francis emphasized that a Christian should intervene in the politics, he should be an active participant in political life and he pointed out that one way is suggesting politicians righteous ideas, and another one – a prayer for politicians. A crowd of a few thousand workers came out into streets. They say that it is a gesture of determination connected with negligence and mystification of debates of the Tripartite Commission. How does Priest Archbishop perceive the political scene at this time difficult for Poland?
Fr. Zbigniew Suchy
ARCHBISHOP JÓZEF MICHALIK
Politics is a great art which should be cultivated by masters, so wise people who are excellent in any respect, especially in respect of preparation, skills and faithfulness to ethics. This last feature is especially important, because abilities and skills are in vain if a politician does not know that his task is to serve to people, country and the nation, not realization of private ambitions or looking for private benefits. Moreover, today politics is pursued in teams, groups or parties which impose their priorities. Hence, the evaluation of politics and politicians must be slightly broader and more comprehensive.
Slaves
Personally, according to recommendations of the Holy See, I do not get engaged in politics understood as personal or parties’ preferences. However, in my predictions or in various contacts with people I do not avoid pointing out to what is important and worthy in politics, and what is bad, worrying or dangerously short-sighted. The Church must evaluate politics and politicians from the moral point of view, because it cannot keep silent towards the evil, and by praising the good sides of politicians’ work, it promotes the good, encourages for courage, etc. However, if I want to synthesize my relationship in relation to what is happening in Poland, I will quote a fragment of an anonymous on the portal Virtual Poland. Somebody of the nickname ‘Boss’ placed the following inscription: ‘I have just returned from holiday on the Caribbean with my wife, the best hotel, parties in a swimming pool filled up with champagne. At that time my slaves earned 2 million for me. Now I will take rest and in a month we will go away to the Caribbean again’. It is a very cynical inscription, showing how much contempt and negligence are creeping into the way of thinking of people and into the life of our country. Certainly, the author of this nihilistic opinion can be called a provocateur or an incidental example of a newly rich feudal lord. But such an attitude is caused by something and it must be said that we are taught it by some members, including some Polish politicians of our so-called elites.
On the one hand, some kinds of behavior of the government reveal – like in the case of budget preparation – much incompetence, but on the other hand – sophisticated negligence of the society, which, allegedly and according to the words of the Finance Minister, ‘is wrong’. In both cases what is the worst, there is no consistency, that is, impunity which is moving from the highest to the lowest social spheres.
Another example is relentless encroachment on the means of taxpayers saved in the Open Pension Fund. Everybody knows that the decision was not caused by a care about citizens, but an attempt of saving the badly and naively calculated budget. Because how else can one call this planning it with the consideration of expected benefits from fines for exceeding the speed? In one of radio programmes, a Polish economist, asked about where it is better to save one’s money: in the Social Insurance Company or in the Open Pension Funds, admitted sincerely that both the first and the second way are marked with a big crisis and, therefore, the safest investment is the family and its children. These are only our children, as far as they are well-brought up, who can guarantee us a secure life at old age. Whereas forecast prove that in the year 2100 there will be only 16 million of us.
The Polish Family is endangered. Recently the president has signed a Charter of families with many children in Opole, in the province where demography appears dramatically. But this is only a gesture of mass media, Piarists’ action, because, on the other hand – minister Nowak does not want to agree on 37 percent discount on rail travels for children from multi-children families. It is necessary to change mentality and far-sighted pro-family policy, because Poles may not be enemies of having children, which is proven by Polish families abroad in which many children are born. They are provided with decent conditions for their family development, for example, in Canada it is forbidden to dismiss a mother from work, who has three children. In our country, the very pregnancy is a problem. There are frequent cases that fear of being dismissed from work causes a situation that women cannot get pregnant. These are facts which are revealed by some media, care about the future of our nation. If the grotesque and contempt come from elites of the authority, we cannot be surprised that a kind of a ‘Boss’ or others similar to him, treat Poles as slaves.
Carry burdens of one another’s
Protests and manifestations of labour unions must not be neglected, as it is done by many mainstream media, treating them leniently and ironically. Those embittered people arrived in Warsaw on a day off work and it would be an abuse to say that they did it ‘for a quarrel’.
While I am answering Priest’s letter, priests are reading a sermon of St. Augustine about pastors in a breviary. The Doctor of the Church accuses pastors of ‘not only neglecting ill and weak (sheep), the lost ones, but also killing the ones which are fatty and strong, as far as it depends on them. Despite that, some of them are alive and live thanks to God’s mercifulness. However, bad pastors, as long as it depends on them, kill them, (…) kill them when they live in a bad way, kill them when they give a bad example’. So, St. Augustine calls on everybody to: ‘Show an example of good deeds through their good behavior and be an example for believers’. These are words which can be dedicated to all those who govern our country, especially politicians.
In our country there are people who can be considered as losers for homeland. They do not love it, they use the place where they live for their own benefits and are ready to reject this homeland in difficult situations. But there are also people who persist in tradition and patriotic ideals. During complimentary elections in Podkarpacie it turned out that also opposition cannot keep the suitable moderation and, instead of creating constructive programs, it decides to bring out some unclear, dirty things from the past. It is a big embarrassing defect which revealed a lack of a beautiful style last week and caused a situation that many well-thinking people started doubting. If there is no consensus among those who declare to be worried about the future fate of Poland, we can be afraid of being longer in the atmosphere of private interests, arrogance and contempt.
We gather together in churches where politicians are often present and both from the governmental party and the opposition party. The words refer to everybody: ‘Carry burdens of one another’s’ (see Ga 6.2). However, only few people hear them. And returning to the statement of the Holy Father Francis: I see a lack of ‘right ideas’ on the political scene and surely, there is a lack of prayers in homeland for those who accepted and are honestly realizing this mission of ministry in the realm of temporality. They also need being supported by God’s grace, so that they would not be discouraged, while going against difficulties, so that they would show an example of good deeds through their good behavior and become a good example for others.
Evaluations and postulates towards politicians and political parties which they represent, are also the most recommendable at present, if only they are objective, without any subtexts, which is typical now, when there is quite a long time before the pre-election actions. But now, it is high time we created our opinion about matters and people whom we are going to trust in the forthcoming elections.
(AA)
"Niedziela" 42/2013