 to this kind of slaughter a criminal offence. The Tribunal judged that freedom of religion, and especially the right to manifest religion, encompasses the right of religious organizations to practice ritual slaughter.
The absolute prohibition of such practices is thus seen as an unfounded restriction of freedom of religion. Since this judgment was made public (December 12, 2014), the contested provisions of the Act on animal protection are no longer in force. At present, ritual slaughter is regulated by European Council Regulation No. 1099/2009 of September 24, 2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing: Art. 4 § 4 of the Regulation states that stunning is not obligatory when animals subject to particular methods of slaughter prescribed by religious rites are concerned, provided that slaughter takes place in a slaughterhouse.
As in many other EU countries, Poland has also witnessed public debate on conscientious objection, notably regarding abortion. The most recent case (2014) is that of public hospital professor, Bogdan Chazan, who refused to perform an abortion and was consequently dismissed from his functions. Not surprisingly, the Bureau of the Polish Bishops’ Conference expressed support for Chazan, stating that “conscientious objection must be protected not only from legal penalties but also from any negative legal consequences, disciplinary, financial and professional”. The National Council of Medical Professions has asked the Constitutional Tribunal to examine the constitutionality of the provisions included in article 39 of the Act on Medical and Dental Professions of December 5, 1996. The Tribunal’s decision is pending.
A final and related controversial issue is in vitro fertilization (IVF). Under pressure from the European Commission, Poland’s coalition government, led by the centre-right Civic Platform, has for several years, and so far unsuccessfully, been trying to pass IVF legislation. Once again the Bureau of the Polish Bishops’ Conference clearly expressed its opinion in the debate, notably announcing that from a “moral point of view, in vitro fertilization cannot be accepted, as it turns man into a product of human activity, and is subjected to technical, not ethical rationality”.
Elaborating on such ideas, Archbishop Józef Michalik declared that “before our eyes the promotion of a new gender ideology is taking place. Some universities in Poland have introduced lectures on this new and vague ideology. These universities’ boards consist of the most aggressive Polish feminists, who for years now have been sneering at the Church and at traditional ethics, promoting abortion and fighting the traditional family model”. Taken to the District Court in Przemyśl, the action against the Archbishop brought in by feminist activist Małgorzata Marenin was dismissed, as the Court opined that no personal interests had been infringed upon.
Episodes such as the above clearly show that in spite of many provisions which formally guarantee, if not strict Church-State separation, in any case a mutual independence on both sides, Polish society and mores remain predominantly Catholic, whereby the Church continues to exert profound influence on social, political and private life. Indeed even though surveys suggest a slow decline in religious affiliation, Poland remains one of the countries in Europe where religion has retained not only considerable symbolic capital, but also fundamental social significance.
Michał Czelny, Marta Ordon and Michał Zawiślak (John Paul II Catholic University, Lublin).