Search results

THE TRANSITION PROCESS TO DEMOCRACY AND A MARKET ECONOMY IN POLAND IS BEING DRIVEN AND SHAPED BY A VARIETY OF IMPORTANT FORCES, BUT PARTICULARLY BY THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. THIS ARTICLE PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF THE CHURCH-STATE SITUATION IN POLAND, FOCUSING SPECIFICALLY ON THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH IN POST-COMMUNIST POLITICS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS. THE NATURE OF CHURCH-STATE RELATIONS UNDER COMMUNISM IS SUMMARIZED AND THEN THE CHURCH'S ENGAGEMENT IN POST-COMMUNIST POLITICS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS IS LOOKED AT. THE POST-COMMUNIST ATTEMPTS TO OFFICIALLY DEFINE THE STATUS OF THE CHURCH IN POLISH SOCIETY AND ESTABLISH A NEW BASIS FOR CHURCH-STATE RELATIONS ARE DISCUSSED.

Provides an overview of the Church-state situation, focusing on role of the Church in post-communist politics and public affairs; addresses areas targeted by the Church, such as religious education, abortion, elections, and the media.

AbstractThis article explores the leading analyses of the contemporary situation and future prospects of the Roman Catholic Church in the US today. It suggests an alternative view, and it concludes by discussing the potential impact of Pope Francis I on the contemporary crisis and on the leading analyses of same.

The notion of the Roman Catholic church as a transnational actor is both intriguing and elusive. Its global empire, and thus its transnationality, ties it to many situations, no two of which are exactly alike. Its center in Rome coordinates and shapes the actions of the subsidiary field units by supplying them with general norms, symbolic leadership, and authoritative decisions. Each of the field units possesses, in turn, a certain autonomy vis-a-vis the center; the field units make demands on the center, may provide it with new ideas, and often generate key resources for the center, for example, loyalties, money, and skills.