THE TABLET, January 26th, 1957. VOL. 209. No. 6088.
A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER & REVIEW
Pro Ecclesia Dei, Pro Regina et Patria
FOUNDED IN 1840
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JANUARY 26th, 1957
NINEPENCE
Mr. Thorneycroft's Business : Money for industry
The Common Market : The Debate in Europe. By John Dingle
A Neutral Zone in Europe ? : Three Possible Ways. By Eugene Hinterhoff
Neglected Folk-Lore : The Mining Community. By Ronald M. Grant
Catholics at Oxford : At Home and Not at Home By Adrian Hastings
CllUrch and State in Poland : Last Month’s Agreement and its Implementation
Critics’ Columns : Notebook : Book Reviews : Letters : Chess
GOMULKA’S
'T 'H E results of last Sunday’s election in Poland make,
so far as the figures go, no particular impression; elections held in the Stalinist days, when Poland was ruled by the Bierut-Berman-Minc triumvirate who made their successive exits in the course of last year, resulted in the publication of similar figures, all showing majorities well over 90 per cent. But there is no doubt, nevertheless, that M. Gomulka can claim to have received a mandate to continue the work he began in October : not as Prime Minister but as First Secretary of the Communist Party.
For some weeks the saying has been current in Warsaw that the Polish State rests on four pillars: M. Gomulka, Cardinal Wyszynski, the BBC and the Red Army. It is the last which is the decisive, overshadowing presence. These are now Soviet troops with a difference, for it is one of M. Gomulka’s successes that the Russians agreed, on December 17th, that their troops in Poland shall be underPolish law and shall not be moved without the consent of the Polish Government; but all such agreements with the Russians may be disregarded any day. The physical fact of Russian power remains, with the demonstration in Hungary that it may be used ruthlessly if the Russians become alarmed. M. Gomulka and the Cardinal have both had to think what their practical courses should be while Poland is still deprived of the freedom which is her right.
Four days before last Sunday’s election in Poland, the Secretary of the Hierarchy, Mgr. Choromanski, an Auxiliary Bishop of Warsaw, published a statement on behalf of the Hierarchy. It was broadcast just two days after a meeting between Cardinal Wyszynski and the Prime Minister, M. Cyrankiewicz—the first meeting between them, so far as we know, since the Cardinal’s release in Oclober. The official announcement about this meeting made no mention of the impending election, saying merely that several questions concerning the relations of Church and State were discussed. The statement published by Mgr. Choromanski ran as follows :
“ Sunday, January 20th, will be the day of the general elections to the Sejm. On that day Catholic citizens should
DUAL ROLE fulfil their duty by voting. The Catholic clergy will arrange the services in such a manner as to make it possible for all believers to fulfil without impediment both their religious and electoral duties.”
The statement was at first sight in line with statements issued by the Bishops of France, Italy and indeed many other countries of the free world since the end of the war, urging the faithful to fulfil the duty of voting. But there were contrasts. In the Western countries it has been not uncommon for the Bishops to say that to refrain from voting is a sin, and the Polish Bishops did not say this. Secondly, the Western Bishops have always gone on to say something to the effect that Catholics may not vote for any candidate who is committed to an atheistic position, and have made it clear that they referred to Communist candidates. The Polish Bishops made no reservation of this kind. Perhaps they could hardly be expected to.
In general it can be concluded that M. Gomulka and Cardinal Wyszynski have established a modus vivendi. M. Gomulka is popular in a way no Communist has ever been before in Catholic Poland. He walks on egg-shells. He will experience a constant, inevitable pull towards the West, towards Europe, to which Poland since her creation as a kingdom under papal auspices has always belonged. European and American aid is wanted, and, while it may come without conditions, its presence will itself be a commentary and a criticism of the Soviet satellite empire. It is a terrifying thought that a peasant like M. Khrushchev, who has only ever learnt the Marxian view of the world, can, in the face of all experience and all theory as well as ail practice, believe that capitalism is dying and that his crude doctrines, enforced by reigns of terror, represent the future for humanity. But the Poles have to deal with the Kremlin as it is, and it is going to be exceedingly difficult for M. Gomulka to satisfy the suspicious minds of the Kremlin that he really is a genuine aggressive Communist first and foremost; a Communist who happens to be a Pole, and not a Pole who happened to be a Communist, which is how his countrymen are now regarding him.
