Poland: The Seed of Liberal Democracy Turned Virus

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-poland-church-insight/as-polands-church-embraces-politics-catholics-depart-idUSKBN2A30SN

The Roman Catholic Church was keen to utilise Western Liberalism in its fight with the government of communist Poland. Backing Solidarity and the democratic movement, the papacy of John Paul II played a significant role in the Cold War struggle.

And yet in doing so, and in Poland's rapid turn to the West in the aftermath of 1989, many seeds were planted which a generation later are coming back to haunt the ecclesiastical Establishment – both in Rome and in Gniezno.

Thirty years of Western Enlightenment-informed culture, capitalism and thirteen years of open borders (via the Schengen zone) have produced a significant change in Polish culture. Catholicism which was the rallying point for dissident society during the Cold War has remained vibrant but increasingly the dogmas of Rome have been in competition with the values of Classical Liberalism – and increasingly that Liberalism in its decadent form. For the younger generation especially, personal liberties in the form of abortion and lifestyle rights are at odds with Rome which increasingly looks like the same kind of corrupt and arbitrary institutionalised authoritarianism their parents and grandparents resisted.

Increasingly the Catholic Church has become politicised and is attempting to openly steer the vote of parishioners – something those with Liberal sensibilities are certain to resent. This is not to say such critics are automatically Leftists but rather they are committed to another ethic that considers the democratic process and the enshrined rights of the Liberal paradigm to be sacrosanct and equal to the claims of authority Rome might have or desire.

The Catholic Church for its part should be happy enough to see such people leave its ranks. They will only stir up trouble but for an institution committed to Sacralism – as indeed Catholicism in Poland is, then apostasy is tantamount to political rebellion, either now or in the near future. And thus for them, this is a crisis and they must be expected to call upon the state to control the institutions of society which would certainly include education in order to maintain a grip on society and its veneer of Christianity.

But this won't work in a Schengen scenario in which young people can simply leave and easily cross into Germany or the Czech Republic and pursue the education or opportunities they desire.

The end result of this trajectory is that the Polish government (part of the V4 or Visegrad Group) is bound, even destined to leave the Schengen Zone and ultimately the EU. The schisms appearing in Poland, Hungary and other states such as Greece, Italy, Austria and the other V4 members are not just cracks in the wall – they are cracks that risk compromising the entire edifice, critical wounds which will undermine and destroy the project.

I am eager to see how a Francis-led Rome will interact with this growing problem. So far I would say Francis is trying to play both sides and yet his silence marks tacit approval for the Polish hierarchy and its alliance with the PiS government in Warsaw.

I am also keen to see how the Biden administration will deal with these tensions. The US Establishment has always been uneasy with regard to the EU. If these events had taken place in the 1990's the US would be quietly backing the dissenters. But since it's the 2020's, and with regional enemy Russia on the eastern periphery, the approach is different. The US does not want a rival in Brussels. A strong EU will become a rival and chart an independent course. A weak EU will cave to Russia and splinter into blocs – some of which might become rivals in themselves to US interests not only in the wider world, but in Europe itself. It's a delicate game to say the least.

But returning to Poland, the stage is being set for another populist uprising. This one will also be funded and backed by the West – by Washington and Brussels. The clash won't be between liberal democratic capitalism and authoritarian communism. This time it's going to be liberal democratic capitalism in conflict with the PiS and its anti-liberal traditionalism and Catholic sacralism. The outcome will (as in the 1980's) play a significant role in charting Europe's future and may even play out in how the EU interacts with Russia. The PiS has cozied up to Washington and hosts missile bases and the like. A more Brussels-aligned liberal order may not take the same course.