The Catholic Church in Poland and the war in Ukraine in 2022 (in the context of the social teaching of the Catholic Church on war and peace)

Abstract

The primary purpose of this article is to describe and analyse the statements and actions of the Catholic Church in Poland with regard to the war in Ukraine in 2022. The subject of the analysis included both the public statements of the leaders of the Catholic Church and the actions of Catholic communities to help refugees in Poland and the activity and provision of aid in the territory of Ukraine. The issues of war and peace occupy an important place in the social teaching of the Catholic Church. It was therefore important to obtain an answer to the question to what extent the statements and attitudes of the representatives of the Catholic Church in Poland coincided with the underlying principles of the social teaching of the Catholic Church relating to the issues of war and peace and with the statements of Pope Francis. Based on the analysis, it can be concluded that the representatives of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in Poland, and especially the community of the believers strongly condemned Russia’s aggression and engaged themselves in helping the attacked side in a comprehensive manner and a variety of ways.