Poland: the word of the President of the Council for the Family

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“The essence of the problem lies not in prohibitions and punishments, but in the care of life from conception to natural death” – said Bishop Wiesław Śmigla in his statement about the grounds for the constitutional court’s ruling on eugenic abortion.

“A woman in a blessed state, is well provided if she first receives support from the child’s father and her extended family, but also should be provided with spiritual, psychological, medical and economic help from the wider community and the state” underlined the Bishop. Indeed, the burden of caring for a severely handicapped child must not be placed on his family alone. The whole of society must take responsibility.

Here is the full statement of Bishop Wiesław Śmigla, President of the Council for Families of the Polish Bishops’ Conference:

The ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal on the protection of life, and now the publication of the justification and the ruling itself, is a consequence of a first civic draft submitted by a large group of citizens, but also a continuation of the previous line of legal jurisprudence.

Legal considerations should be left to lawyers. However, in my opinion, the essence of the problem lies not in prohibitions and punishments, but in the care of life from conception to natural death. The main question concerns human life, its beginning and the earthly end. The Church’s task is, above all, to form the consciences of believers so that they make choices in accordance with their faith and recognize the sanctity of life at every stage of its development. However, no one can be forbidden to change the law, the more so as it is consistent with the Polish Constitution.

Merely implementing an established law is not enough. Today, the rulers, the Church, but also all circles have, above all, the duty to take care of parents, women and their disabled children, so that in a difficult situation no one is left alone and without support. A woman in a blessed state, is well provided if she first receives support from the child’s father and her extended family, but also should be provided with spiritual, psychological, medical and economic help from the wider community and the state.

It takes great prudence not to lose sight of what is really important in the heat of the political struggle.

Tłumaczenie powstało na zamówienie Fundacji ŻYCIU TAK im. Niepokalanego Poczęcia Najświętszej Maryi Panny