Experience of the epidemic showed the strengths and weaknesses of Polish Catholicism. People’s longing for sacraments, liturgy and the mass during the restrictions related to the epidemic showed their attachment to the practice of faith. At the same time, the Church faced the need for fast technical development, especially in the area of the Internet (broadcasts, contact with the faithful). Simultaneously, various controversial issues are brought up regarding truths of faith, experiencing and understanding the life of the Church and understanding piety. There are three main challenges for the Church: proper formation of clergy and laity, shaping the right spirituality and opening to new forms of faith transmission and related pastoral conversion.

This article is about proclaiming the faith of the Church in the modern world in a pastoral and theological perspective. The starting point is a discourse combining the living tradition of the Church and the communal and personal experience of Christian faith. The second point presents the content and structure of the apostolic kerygma, showing its ecclesial background and paschal source. Finally, in the third point, the dialogue between Christian faith and the modern world was emphasized. We are talking here about the soteriological and eschatological perspective of the presence of the Church in the world, which, genetically speaking, comes from theological reflection on the basic mysteries of the Christian faith: the Incarnation, Redemption and Resurrection. The consequence of this approach to the problem is the postulate that the Christian message must be sensitive to the challenges of the present time, and at the same time deeply rooted in the Paschal experience of the Church’s faith and practice.

The emergence of new sciences and technologies is contributing to profound changes in all communities of the world. Terms such as secularisation, mondialisation (globalisation) and digitalisation express man’s new reference to nature, other men, himself, and the religious sphere. Christianity should look for new approaches to the evangelical way of life in this new world. In view of the fact that the human world contains both positive and negative elements, Christians should strive to discern these contemporary changes of humankind. On the one hand, this world, still in the process of creation, is loved unconditionally by God: For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son (John 3:16). Therefore, Christ’s disciples should also love this world instead of showing fear of it. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit speaks to us through all the events of our lives, including those that are influencing the current changes within our societies. This is why it is necessary to discern His presence and inspirations.

The family is of enormous value and persons called to form it face numerous tasks. Although the functions and tasks of the family remain the same, certain spheres have been modified, since the family has to deal with new challenges and obstacles. A manifestation of care for the family in Upper Silesia are, inter alia, special messages of bishops of Katowice delivered during annual social class pilgrimages of men and women to Piekary Śląskie. During each pilgrimage, the bishops of Katowice (Herbert Bednorz, Damian Zimoń and Wiktor Skworc) preached on the topic of family. They recognized the value of the family and the scope of the tasks it faces. They talked about various forms of support and appropriate attitudes of a mature Christian. Most of all they emphasised the importance of the sacramental marriage and the fact that marriage is a special gift. They recognised the effort of parents to educate children and adolescents, transfer faith, and shape appropriate Christian attitudes. They were not afraid to touch upon difficult and uncomfortable issues such as the value of human life that should be protected, and protecting the Christian character of Sunday.

The XX century is marked by great changes and transformations in every sphere of a human life. The supreme event which made a lot of changes in the Catholic Church is The Second Vatican Council. It performed a great renewal of a religiuos life. The Vatican II renewal influenced local churches in a great measure. In according, in Poland, we can see post-council revive synodal activity. The Church in Poland knows perfectly that the properly understood renewal of a religious life should begin in a family. That’s why the polish diocesan synods take family as a subject of their reflexion and renewal, especially I Synod of Katowice (1972-1975). The Article showes an achievement of the Synod in “a family and its role in a formation of a religious life”. The whole Article has been divided into two parts. The first reveals a family community as a source of religious life. The second one shows how the development of a religious life in a family is determined by the changes and renewal of a society. The Catholic Church should remember that small communities, especially families, are the basis of a parish renewal. A family is not only a basic organizational unit of the Church but also a reality in which the Church is formed.

In the most recent history of Poland, the beginning of the 90s was undoubtedly a breakthrough. In 1989, communism started falling apart and the new reality that emerged showed that the upcoming change would not be easy and would have, at least at the beginning, a negative impact on social life and the economy. In a country dominated by old-fashioned agriculture, hyperinflation, enormous debt and a devastated economy, it was extremely difficult to introduce elements of private property and free market economy. The biggest economic distress related to the transformation was the phenomenon of unemployment, the extent of which was so vast that material status of Poles and their families deteriorated very quickly. It implied such negative phenomena as poverty, helplessness, social isolation, and emotional issues in families. Many people did not cope in the situation of rivalry and competition. At the same time, old habits, disparities and financial deficiency worsened the psychological problems of individuals. The Catholic Church, recognising the extent of the problem, got involved in supporting families of the unemployed. The Church preached the teaching based on the value of human labour, human dignity, the need of social justice, and interpersonal solidarity. She agitated for national debate on unemployment to take remedial measures. Help provided by the Church, and charitable institutions and foundations related to the Church to families of the unemployed should not be underestimated. The role of the Church in Poland during this difficult transitional period should be remembered.

Malignant tumor is the second most frequent cause of death in Poland. A steady increase in cancer mortality has been observed in Poland. The introduction of modern research methods has contributed to an increase in cancer detection and enhanced therapeutic effects. New medical achievements, the introduction of new drugs or more optimal treatment techniques can become a source of further improvement of the situation. The appearance of cancer in the family completely changes the lives of its individual members. The way of thinking, feelings, actions, the hierarchy of goals and values change depending on the phase of the disease and the progress of treatment. Nevertheless, the fight against cancer in the family is still an issue little known in Polish psycho-oncology. The article shows the impact of cancer on the patient’s family, focusing on the sociological, psychological and spiritual dimensions of attitudes and reactions of families towards oncologically ill relatives. One of the author’s main goals is to examine how fear and anxiety develop in families affected by cancer.

Article presents the techniques of artificial procreation and their moral evaluation. It is a problem, first of all, of conceiving a child outside the mother’s body. Main technique of artificial procreation is the in vitro method. Other problems associated with artificial procreation are the creation of supernumerary embryos, hyperstimulation of ovaries for the production of ova, and the use of masturbation to obtain sperm. Other activities include cryopreservation of supernumerary embryos or the use of the institution of a surrogate mother. Particular danger connected with in vitro method is human cloning, not only for reproductive purposes. In addition, methods of artificial procreation do not support, but replace the marital act. Due to the above-mentioned reasons, these methods can not be considered morally decent. This is the position of the Catholic Church.

Bolesław Kominek played a considerable role in the work of the Polish Bishops’ Conference (KEP) and its special committees. He had been a formal member of the KEP since 1954, but in practice he had participated in its sessions since 1956. From 1958 he had been a member of the Main Committee of the Polish Episcopate. His activity embraced several areas: preparing pastoral letters, addresses and messages; involvement in establishing relations with the Polish government (under the Communist regime); contributions to regulating the status of the Catholic Church in the western and northern parts of Poland; academic work pertaining to the reorganization of the structures of the Polish church administration; contacts with the Holy See, other bishops’ conferences and Vatican organizations. A major area of his activity on the forum of the Polish Bishops’ Conference was his work in special committees. In the period of twenty years of his service as a bishop, Bolesław Kominek had been a member of the following committees: General Pastoral Committee of the Polish Episcopate – chairman in 1968-1974; Iustitia et Pax Committee of the Polish Episcopate – assistant and chairman in 1968-1974; Committee on the Church in the Western and Northern Parts of Poland of the Polish Episcopate – chairman in 1970-1972; Committee for Pastoral Charity of the Polish Episcopate – member in 1958-1967; Marian Committee of the Polish Episcopate – member in 1958-1974; Council Committee of the Polish Episcopate – member in 1963-1970. This dedicated and creative activity of the Bishop of Wrocław shows not only the scope of his pastoral involvement, but also helps to discover the depth of his original vision of the Church, to better evaluate his impact on the ecclesial reality after the war, and to appreciate his role as a spokesman for the Western and Northern parts of Poland.

Jerzy Ciesielski (1929-1970) was the Venerable, a God’s servant. He was also a husband, father and an outstanding scientist, he contributed to the development of ferroconcrete constructions in Poland. For many years he served as a lecturer at the Cracow University of Technology. In 1969, he went to Chartum in Sudan, where he took the position of the so called „visiting professor”. In this article, several letters to his wife written from Chartum in the years 1969-1970 have been analysed according to three aspects: the Eucharist as the top and the source of a Christian’s spiritual life, the community, self-improvement rooted in prayers and in deep connection with God and finally professional work, which was treated by Jerzy Ciesielski as the natural law of the human nature giving us the possibility of sanctification and hope of unification with God.

In the religious life two big charisms are important around which all the others, that I would call minor, subsidiary or accompanying ones, are situated. What I have in mind are the charisms of prophecy and industriousness. The most important calling of a religious person is to testify about the presence of God as experienced “here and now”, which is similar to the calling of a prophet. His/her task is to get as close to God as possible and look at the world from God’s perspective. A prophet, like a religious person, is not given a gift of meeting God face to face, does not have insight into the heart of divine matters, but rather is able to see the world with God’s eyes and makes His point of view available. From this moment, on a religious person is speaking “on behalf” of God and sees everything from His perspective. This charism is coupled with the charism of industriousness, for getting close to God and to people is an effort, a constant struggle to overcome difficulties, both internal and external ones, of spiritual and carnal nature. An institute a religious person belongs to is, or should be, helpful in this process. The same applies to his/her entire life, his/her difficulties and joys. That is because the most important vocation of a religious person is to try to make God visible in his/her life in the world, so that His word might be heard and His will be done.

Epoka romantyzmu zrodziła ideę wielkich organów romantyczno-symfonicznych, jednak różniły się one wieloma szczegółami w zależności od kraju. Inaczej budowano w Anglii, Niemczech i Francji. Artykuł przedstawia zarys problematyki budownictwa organów w stylu francuskiego symfonizmu przez polskie firmy organmistrzowskie. Instrumenty te znajdują się w polskich kościołach rzymskokatolickich. Pełnią ważną rolę w liturgii oraz w promowaniu muzyki organowej, zwłaszcza francuskich kompozytorów XIX i XX w. Przy ich projektowaniu nawiązano do tradycji stworzonej przez słynnego francuskiego organmistrza Aristide’a Cavaillé-Colla. Podobieństwo do estetyki francuskiego symfonizmu wyraża się w zastosowaniu tych samych rozwiązań konstrukcyjnych oraz brzmieniowych. Organy tego typu budowane są w polskich obiektach sakralnych od niedawna. Ten nowy trend pokazuje rozwój polskiego rzemiosła organowego. We wcześniejszych latach instrumenty o charakterze symfonicznym dla polskich kościołów i sal koncertowych wykonywały głównie zagraniczne firmy organmistrzowskie, zwłaszcza z Niemiec. Ponadto w kościołach na terenie Polski występują organy tzw. uniwersalne, łączące w sobie stylistykę barokową i romantyczną. Ich częściowe nawiązanie do wymogów romantycznych również sprzyja wykonywaniu romantycznej i współczesnej muzyki organowej z Francji. Ciekawostkę stanowią organy romantyczno-symfoniczne, łączące w sobie rozwiązania XIX-wieczne z Niemiec i Francji.

Matrimony and family having a sacral status in every religion and being a sacrament in Christianity, are under attack from totalitarian systems which are both openly aggressive, driven by hatred. Nowadays the world is a witness to a fervent dispute concerning matrimony and family. These institutions acting as the guardians of the moral order and harmony experience numerous ‘attacks’. Their aim is desecration and the ultimate annihilation of the abovementioned institutions. A particularly brutal attack – ‘blow’ aimed at the family is abortion and euthanasia. They are actions “sponsored” by worldwide corporations of hatred towards human beings. Although they are passed by parliaments as the greatest achievements of democracy, they are in fact its denial. They express violence towards nature, environment, God’s order inscribed into this world. In the light of these arguments they are theoretically and practically anti-ecological. Death of aborted human beings, as well as senile, mentally or terminally ill people submitted to euthanasia, is an expression of a totalitarian ideology which always despises one group and glorifies the other. It labels some people as subhumans and others as superhumans. Both these acts of violence, which are in fact an illegal death penalty imposed on the innocent, ultimately strike matrimony and family as institutions deemed as sanctified by the Catholic Church and ordained by God. The modern matrimony and family willing to ‘be themselves’ have to fight in order to keep their identity. It can be done by a decisive resistance towards any “strikes”. By these actions matrimony and family shall fulfil the culture-making mission first in the matrimonial and family circle, next in the society and finally in the nation. The family has always been ”the communion of people” and wants to retain its status. It is within the family where the biggest and the most precious human effort is taken – the task of raising children in the context of matrimonial and family love, the effort of maturating towards eternity and salvation. Only if the family and matrimony are strong in God, can they survive the sinister anti-ecological “strike” coming from the policy propagating abortion and euthanasia.

At the beginning of salvation, the first people live in the abundance of the Paradise, like at the feast of God’s goodness and love. That ended early, but since then people have celebrated every dining – food consummation – like a small feast connected to the Paradise. The biblical history refers to the phenomenon of eating food with someone as manifestation of friendship and favour. Jesus accepted invitations to feasts where unusual events unfolded and this escalated in the eating of the Last Supper. At this feast, he established the new and eternal covenant that would continue to be the feast of agapé, the feast of love. The apostles carried on doing it, as the Acts of the Apostles say, when they gathered to pray and break the bread. In the Church this is being done at every Mass, which is a feast in preparation for the eternal Feast of the Lamb in the Kingdom of God. A feast is at the beginning of human existence, in the biblical world, at the fullness of time when Jesus came, at every Mass and in the Apocalypse of St John as well. Every Eucharist is a remembrance, an update, but also a continuous feast, so we, being penetrated by Jesus,can take part in his eternal feast.