The study focuses on the reflection of Jewish‑Slavic relations in the work of Alexander Pavlovіch (Oleksandr Pavlovych, 1819‑1900). The author in question was a Greek Catholic priest – a representative of the Eastern Religious Rite (Byzantine) during the 19th century. In the context of his poems, the figures of Jewish innkeepers appear to be overly burdened with stereotypes. We briefly present the history of the Jews in Eastern Slovakia, where Pavlovich lived. The aim of such poems, which were written mostly by the clergy during the mentioned period, was not to stir up passion. The task of didactic works was to educate people and warn them against the harmful effects of alcohol. Pavlovich belonged to the group of writers that raised awareness of alcoholism. Despite being canonized, it is necessary to critically revise the approach of the poet’s treatment of the Jewish theme over a longer period.

These remarks are to be considered as a voice in the discussion not only on the historical role of the Catholic Church in culture but also on mistakes committed by its Magisterium of the Catholic Church such as absolutism, globalism, and intolerance. Certainly it can be called otherwise. The key issue is however at how we call it but if we consider it as major mistakes and if yes if we seek for such an explanation that will actually is an excuse. This is the case in the example of often recalled in these remarks “The history of the Catholic Church” by Marian Banaszak. I do represent another view than this author. Also not just than Banaszak himself but other authors as well who blame for the failures of Catholicism (including the decline of its decisive social role) all those but not the ones who make the key decisions within the Church.

The main task of the paper is to analyse pope Benedict XVI’s social teaching on poverty as introduced in the encyclical letter ‘Caritas in veritate’. While the methodo-logical language of the papal teaching is anthropological and theological in character, the document uses its own interdisciplinary approach that is characteristic of Catholic Social Teaching. Consequently such a Christian reflection on social issues like pover-ty, inequality, marginalisation and globalisation can be compared with other social fin-dings. In the global context the pope identifies growing economic inequalities but also the advantages of cooperation within the global economy. The analysis also discerns the theories of social development that are convergent with the papal social diagnosis. Finally, comparing the pope’s social teaching with some studies in economy, sociolo-gy and political sciences, the author of the paper examines the possibility to construct an interdisciplinary link between Catholic Social Teaching and other social sciences.

The article discusses the role of the press in the socio- economic activities of the Catholic Action movement in the interwar period by focusing on the Diocese of Siedlce in the 1930s. An analysis of the content of three regional magazines, Wiadomości Diecezjalne Podlaskie (The Podlasie Diocesan News), Głos Podlaski (The Voice of Podlasie) and Podlaski Miesięcznik Katolicki (The Podlasie Catholic Monthly) indicates that all of them played an important role in founding new branches of the Catholic Action, mobilizing its members to get involved in the Action's economic and social projects, and encouraging them to join various initiatives in the sphere of defence and state security.

The history of “Études de théologie, de philosophie et d’histoire” is connected with the Work of Saints Cyril and Methodius (L’OEuvre des Saints Cyrille et Méthode), which was founded in 1855. The purpose of the Work was prayer as well as refl ection and discussion on the union of the Catholic and Orthodox Church. The founder of the Work, Ivan Gagarin, once Russian Orthodox and from 1842 a Catholic in France, gathered for this purpose a vast library in order to document the history of ecumenism and the ecclesiastical history of the Slavic countries. With time, the Slavonic Library became one of the most abundant book collections on these subjects in Western Europe. Gagarin believed that the West knew too little about the Orthodox Russia, which was an impediment to the union of the Churches. To bring his motherland closer to Western Catholics and to present problems to be faced by those who strove for the unity of the Christian East and West, Gagarin decided to start to publish a magazine “Études de théologie, de philosophie et d’histoire”, for which he needed approval of the superiors of the Jesuit Order. Due to Gagarin’s prolonged negotiations with his superiors, the magazine did not start to be published until 1857. This paper deals with the history of “Études de théologie, de philosophie et d’histoire”.

The article analyzes the names given today to the children of inhabitants of Przemyśl — followers of Catholicism and Orthodoxy, at the same time showing their differences and similarities within both religions. In the same urban, communication and cultural community, Catholic and Orthodox live side by side (often for many generations). Despite everything, they to some extent retain their own identity (culture, traditions and customs), which also manifests itself in the names given to children. For a more complete picture of the situation, the names of the two older generations (parents and grandparents) were also presented.

This article examines how migration to Wales modifies Polish Catholic families’ religious practices. It focuses on how the First Communion ceremony is performed. Within the Polish migrant community I witnessed three distinct ways of arranging this. Some families travelled to Poland to their parish churches of origin. Of those who celebrated it in Wales, some did so in a Polish church, others in their children’s Catholic school’s church. These choices had different effects. Holding First Communion in Poland confirmed children’s Polish identity and home-country bonds. It exemplified both the fluidity of the families’ intra-European migration experience and the strength of transnational networking. Hold-ing it in the local Polish parish reinforced both families’ and childrens’ identification as Polish Catho-lics. In the school’s church, it strengthened migrant families’ negotiations of belonging and their children’s integration into the Welsh locality. Mothers’ active involvement in all settings led some to contest Polish religious customs and revealed emerging identifications related to children’s wellbeing and belonging. Unlike arrangements traditional in Poland, families’ religious practices in Wales seem to have become more individual, less collective.

Radosław Ptaszyński devoted over 700 pages of his book to Stanisław Stomma, a catholic intellectual who, during his life was confronted with two totalitarian systems, German Nazism and Soviet Communism. Stomma remains until today a symbol of „stommizm”. This name, created basing on a Stomma’s surname remains a symbol of political realism, and willingness of compromise (with direct limits), and accompanied by a strong moral integrity. Stomma, a devoted catholic played also an important role in the long process of Polish-German reconciliation. According to the Author “stommizm” itself can be recognised as a new kind of heroism, however remote from other well-known patterns of heroism.

The present overview of current Christian-Jewish dialogue shape firstly specifes the dialogue and its partners concept meaning applied to the relations between religious societies. It draws our attention to the polarisations within the Christianity and Judaism as well as to the differencies in dialogue advancement between bodies keeping the dialogue and the general public. It points out the different motivation prompting Jews and Christians to keep the dialogue and the infuence of this on understanding the sense, the choice of its representatives and the theme of the dialogue.

The deepening mutual cognition along with the growing awareness of both; chances and limits of consensus in the dialogue, are indicated among the previous achievements. From the side of the catholic church, irreversible will of the dialogue along with the appropriate directions of doctrinal clarifcations of the Church Teaching are strongly emphasized.

The theological questions are raised that on the Christian side develop from the acknowledgment of irremovability of the covenant between God and Israel. The questions refer to the contemporary situation and the eschatological perspective of existence of two communities considering themselves as continuation of the covenant between God and Abraham, as well as their relation towards Israel Land. The article at its conclusion stipulates the deepening of the awareness of the mystery whenever resuming the religious topics in the dialogue.

The purpose of the article is to systematize the main issues related to the encounter of Christianity with Latin American cultures. The study is based on both Latin American theological publications and various documents of the Roman Catholic Church. In the first part the problem of Christianity’s encounter with cultures of this region from historic perspective is discussed by pointing out to its negative, ambiguous and positive aspects. The second part is devoted to classification of culture circles, significant from the point of view of evangelization and inculturation (cultures of urban agglomeration, rural regions, Indian and Afro-Latin American cultures, poverty, elites, cyber culture and popular culture). In the final section we paid attention to the issue of up-coming culture and its trends (modernism and postmodernism, secularism, socio-political ideologies, the role of mass media, the tensions between globalization process and appreciation of local traditions).

The article presents the image of Napoleon Bonaparte in the Catholic press of the Second Polish Republic. Attention was paid to both his socio‑political and military achievements, as well as a general assessment of the character. The source basis is mainly the texts that appeared on this subject in periodicals dealing most often with socio‑political and historical‑political issues. They were compared with the findings of both contemporaneous and contemporary historians. The aspect of the then political propaganda in Poland, emphasising the importance of the Polish-‑French alliance, as well as the former importance of Napoleonic policy for the “Polish cause” was taken into account. The power of the solemn celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Napoleon's death, together with its patriotic connotations, as well as the issue of his religiosity, influencing the nature of the then state‑Church relations, are particularly exposed. The text is intended by the author to fit into the categories of the history of historiography and have a comparative character in relation to the historiography of the Napoleonic era in interwar Poland.

The Faculty of Theology of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw is endowed with rich history. It existed at the Royal University of Warsaw, established in 1816.

It operated until the University was closed in 1831; then its activity was continued at the Main Seminary (1823–1835), and fi nally at the Roman-Catholic Clerical Academy (1835–1867). The Theological Faculty came into being again at the University of Warsaw in 1918. Aft er the World War II, the faculty became active in 1945, in 1954 it became part of the Academy of Catholic Theology and since 1999 it has been included into the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University. The achievements of the faculty are important, it has employed many eminent theologians and instructed thousands of graduates. Its merits for the Church and Polish culture are not to be neglected.

The following scientific grades in theology were awarded at the Theological Faculty of the Academy of Catholic Theology (1954–1999): 85 professional bachelor’s degrees, 4853 master’s degrees, 762 canonical licentiates, 313 doctor’s degrees, 92 nostrifications of doctorates and 89 post-doctoral degree.

The following scientific grades in theology have been awarded at the Th eological Faculty of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University (from 1 October 1999 to 16 June 2008): 3916 bachelor’s degrees, 5718 master’s degrees, 1315 canonical licentiates, 299 doctor’s degrees, 71 nostrifications of doctorates, 45 post-doctoral degrees and 23 professor’s degrees in theology. In addition, the Institute of Studies of the Family has awarded 1733 master’s degrees in studies of the family.

Nowadays, the Theological Faculty of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University is composed of six institutes: Institute of Theology, Institute of Media Education and Journalism, Institute of the Studies of Culture, Institute of Theology in Radom, Institute of Apostleship Theology, Institute of Studies of the Family. The Theological Faculty includes as well the Non-local Didactical Centre in Gdynia. Three clerical seminaries are affiliated at the Theological Faculty: Higher Clerical Seminary in Płock, Gdańsk Clerical Seminary in Gdańsk-Oliwa, Higher Clerical Seminary of Catholic Apostleship in Ołtarzew. The following institutions are bound with the Faculty of Theology of the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University with the cooperation agreement: Archdiocese Clerical Seminary in Białystok, Higher Clerical Seminary in Łódź, Higher Clerical Seminary in Łomża, Franciscan Higher Clerical Seminary in Łódź-Łagiewniki, Higher Clerical Seminary of the Salesian Society in Ląd nad Wartą, Higher Clerical Seminary of the Salesian Society in Łódź.

Religion has two functions: a social one (it consolidates a group of followers) and a personal one (psychological). In modern times, the social function of religion has been taken over by ideologies. Socialism is one of such ideologies. The creators of Marxism called their version of socialism scientific socialism, but their vision of the course of history (‘from capitalism to communism’) has become the foundation of a new religion and a new church. The author calls this church ‘Marxo-Leninism’. The text shows similarities between the Catholic Church and the Marxo-Leninism (or the Stalinist church), as well as the analogies between the Jesuit order and the ‘Len-Party’ (i.e. the Leninisttype party).

The paper explores shifts and turns that over the centuries have influenced moral thinking and instructing on moral matters within the Roman Catholic tradition. The purpose of this exploration is to shed light on the current status of moral theology and identify areas for future developments. The paper proposes ‘ecclesial ethics’ as one of such areas. It views moral theology as a dynamic discipline, shaped by the pressures, invitations and demands of the day. It claims that for moral theology to be relevant today, some fundamental questions (including the purpose of the discipline) must be revisited. It argues that practical realities in the lives of individuals, communities and the Church as well as the Planet must be at the forefront of moral theological considerations. Contemporary moral theologians and/or theological ethicists (the paper considers this distinction) are a diverse and, we dare to add, divided group. The paper argues that building bridges in a polarised world (including the world of moral theology) needs to be a priority. The overall aim of this study is to respond positively to the call for the renewal of moral theology as voiced in the ‘Decree on Priestly Formation’ of the Second Vatican Council and in several statements made by Pope Francis.

The Theology Department was opened in January 1918. It came into existence as one of the first four departments of the Catholic University of Lublin. Its activity became part of the university’s mission which is conducting research in harmony with science and faith, educating the catholic intelligentsia and contributing to christian culture.

The identity of the Department manifests itself in the high standard of scientific research and academic education as well as in deepening and promoting the christian concept of the world and man in the context of challenges of the present time.

This article presents an outline history, organization and the main trends in scientific research carried out in the Theology Department of John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin.

In this article, the imperial idea and civilising missions in the Habsburg Monarchy, mainly of the nineteenth century, are refracted through the prism of the legacy of enlightened absolutism. The article tries to dispel mythologies about its demise around 1800, and about those who could subscribe to its programme throughout the nineteenth century. It questions templates of national history writing which too unanimously connect the Enlightenment to the origins of the various national revivals of the early nineteenth century, and discusses concrete examples of enlightened absolutism’s civilising impulses, among them law, Roman imperial patriotism, and the Catholic religion.

The Catholic image of Martin Luther in the course of the centuries evolved from the literally negative one during the time of the Reformation and the centuries that followed, through the theological attempts and historically in-depth analyses inspired by the ecumenical movement up to contemporary acceptance of several theological postulates. Contemporary movements of Roman-Catholic thinking of Luther well summarize historically vulnerable and dogmatically deepened opinions of the recent popes: John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis. Following the agreement texts of the Lutheran-Catholic Commission at the world forum, ecumenically open popes can find out in Martin Luther a profoundly religious man, the witness of the Gospel whose theological thought is still relevant and a challenge for the presently secularized world.

This paper not only clarifies the concepts of secularism and secularization, but also analyzes them, and in its final part it evaluates them. The phenomenon of secu-larism is defined as an ideological and active attitude of hostility toward everything that is Christian. In turn, secularism, quite strongly associated with the current form of culture of societies and their development, is seeking autonomy and freedom. Rad-ical (sometimes irresponsible) secularization thesis of the Protestant (R. Bultmann, K. Barth, D. Bonhoeffer, E. Fuchs, F. Gogarten, G. Vahanian, P. van Buren, W. Ham-ilton, Th . J. Alitzer, J.A.T. Robinson, D. Sölle, W. Pannenberg) mind has been adopted by most Catholic theologians with a reasonable reserve. Catholic doctrine accepts the autonomy of temporal realities and a specifically understood process of profanation of the world (constructio mundi and consecratio mundi). However, the fact that different sectors of earthly life are governed by their own relevant laws, does not mean that the created things are totally independent of God, or that man can dispose of them freely and without any relation to the Creator (K. Rahner, J. B. Metz, P. Teilhard de Chardin, M. D. Chenu, J. Danielou, G. Thils, Ch. Duquoc, J. Maritain, H. de Lubac, Y. Congar, Cz. Bartnik, A. Skowronek, A. Nossol, J. Mariański). The position of the Catholic Church on this matter is contained in the conciliar Constitution Gaudium et Spes.

This article analyzes the representation of Jadwiga of Anjou, the first female monarch of Poland, crowned in 1384, and a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, in Felicjan Faleński's drama The Queen. Published in 1888, the drama features a heroine whose characterization owes a great deal to the late 19th‑century religious culture, and more specifically, the debates about Catholic modernism at the turn of the 19th century. As Felicjan Faleński was by no means unaffected by them (as shown by his Meandry, a volume of ‘unkempt’ verse, published in 1892), The Queen may be claimed to be the first modernist hagiography of Queen Jadwiga in the history of Polish literature.

Father Marceli Dziurzyński (1861–1945) was a noted publisher and editor of a number of magazines, mainly for the country people. The most successful of them was Nowy Dzwonek (The New Hand Bell) that appeared continually from 1892, under altered names and at various intervals, until 1932. This article surveys the first phase of its history and its thematic range (religion, Polish history, current events in Poland and abroad, stories and poems). In that period the magazine also carried a number of supplements.