THE Primate of Poland, Archbishop Wojciech Polak of Gniezno, has warned of a new conflict with his country’s liberal government, after it defied a Constitutional Court order and pressed ahead with reforms affecting religious education.

“Under our constitution, Church and State are distinct but also co-operate for the common good — and this requires dialogue and openness, not one-sided diktats,” Archbishop Polak said.

“Religious classes are compulsory across most of the European Union, but only voluntary in Poland — and, if parents and children request them, their choice should be respected.”

He spoke in reaction to a decision by the Polish Education Minister, Barbara Nowacka, to impose the new rules, which will halve the time allotted to religion and remove it from school reports, in defiance of a judicial order, late last month, requiring further legal checks.

Speaking to the Church Times, he said that the Constitutional Court had issued a “very clear decision” in response to appeals from the RC Church and other religious associations, and urged government officials to abide by it.

“The Ministry decree has been handed down without our acceptance, in violation of constitutional norms and previous understandings,” the Primate said.

“To deprive children of motivation by ending the marking system and joining different age groups together will cause stress and frustration, hampering their education.”

Religious-education curbs are among liberal measures pursued by the government of the Prime Minister, Donald Tusk. The government has also pledged to legalise same-sex partnerships, and to curb state support for church charities. It suffered a defeat in July, however, when conservative Civic Coalition members joined opposition parties in voting down a landmark proposal to liberalise laws on abortion.

Archbishop Polak said that children had a right to “religious classes done in a proper way”, in line with parental beliefs and values, and that he was confident that public opinion would oppose rules “contrary to pedagogical principles. Religious education is linked with social culture, and essential to understanding our national history; it shouldn’t be the object of ideological struggles between rival political interest groups.

“Many people are warning that these new guidelines will bring chaos rather than genuine reforms. We’ve cautioned against pursuing changes in a way which merely causes anxiety and exasperation.”