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One of the new trends in the religious tourism worldwide have been the holiday stays in monasteries, hermitages and retreat houses. The so-called holidays in monasteries are dedicated for people with civilisation addictions and those looking for peace and quiet as well as rest from everyday duties. In Poland, such places include e.g. the Post-Camaldolese Monastery Complex Złoty Las Hermitage in Rytwiany, dubbed the sanctuary of silence. The studies enabled to name the major success drivers of the continuous development of the Złoty Las Hermitage in Rytwiany and the growing tourist traffic in this centre. They include, first and foremost, - the historical, cultural and architectural values of the Post-Camaldolese Monastery Complex, - the religious heritage of the centre and the monastic spirituality, inherited from Camaldolese hermits here, - the pastoral attitude and entrepreneurship of the Hermitage Director, canon priest Wiesław Kowalewski, an effective and efficient leader, his personal traits as well as the skills and reliability of cooperation with the inner community and the neighbourhood, - rich and unique therapeutic offer of the Relaxation and Contemplation Therapy Centre “Złoty Las Hermitage” SpeS (Salus per silentium), - professional staff serving the pilgrims’ and tourists’ traffic, - centre promotion in mass media, - looking for and introducing new ideas, solutions and projects, meaning innovation and expansion, - growing popularity of “holidays in monasteries”.
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The starting point of the article is a cluster of reflections on the interdisciplinary potential of 'Lenten Lamentations' (Gorzkie żale). Subsequently, the text moves on to present the arrangement, methodology and foundations of empirical studies conducted in the year 2017 among a group of high school students from grades 1-3, who were put in charge of two tasks. In the first one they were supposed to say what the service of 'Lenten Lamentations' meant to them. The other one, which was an analysis of specific hymns from the liturgy, examines the impact of their lyrics on the students. The gathered material, which is very rich, makes it possible to assume a number of analytical approaches. The present article concentrates only on discussing a handful of selected results. The conclusions concern methods and ways of reading texts of culture in Polish literature classes.
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Catholic religion presents an ambivalent attitude towards the body: it adores the tormented and resurrected body of Christ, but rejects human physicality, regarding it as a cause and consequence of sin. Such conviction led to imposing numerous restrictions on almost all life spheres of priests, nuns and monks. They cannot get around, get dressed or decide about their activities and relationships freely. They subject their bodies to mortification, vowing celibacy and sexual abstinence. However, a desire to marginalise the physical sphere of human life, which was rooted in the Church, has produced the opposite result. As a consequence, the body became the centre of interest not only for clergymen and believers, but also writers, poets and artists from different countries and periods. The paper focuses on the literature of Spanish-speaking countries, searching for references to the methods of bodily discipline among clergymen and consecrated people. The abundance and variety of presented examples point to the fact that this topic is worth of interest and a deeper analysis.
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Sermons of Reverend Janusz Stanisław Pasierb have a distinct literary character. This may be due to the fact that the preacher was both a poet and essayist. The first part of the paper contains a methodological reflection on literariness, with particular emphasis on the location of the sermon as a specific genre of expression in relation to other forms of literary expression. In the further part of the text, the style and composition of sermons of Reverend Pasierb and their relationship with the poetry of this author are examined. Also, homilies from the funerals of art people are presented - in these works Pasierb contained a particularly large literary component. Reverend Pasierb is fully aware of what the art of word is, including the preacher’s word. He works towards a greater linguistic reflection, drawing artistic attention to the style of preaching. His preaching, with a metaphysical depth and clearly eschatological perspective, and at the same time adding value to worldliness, often tends to an essay and meditation. We are dealing with the individualization of a preacher’s message and a partial remodelling of a typical preacher’s formula.
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Ethopoeia is one of the “introductory exercises” (progym- nasmata) practiced mainly in rhetorical schools in the period of antiquity and late antiquity. At that time, in the strict sense, it was understood as a fictional speech, put into the mouths of mythical or historical people, with an emphasis on their character. This figure was also used by St John Chrysostom, who assimilated it in the pagan rhetorician Libanios’ school. This article deals with the issue of ethopoeia in the historical and contemporary context and takes into account the exemplificative texts of the Homily on the Gospel of St Matthew, the aforementioned Doctor of the Church. The article shows the wealth of ethopoeias he uses, by taking into account their formal and material aspects.
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The text deals with the different conceptions of conscience in Veritatis Splendor and Amoris laetitia and undermines the argument of discontinuity. In contrast, a hermeneutic of complementarity is advocated. This can open up adequate spaces of thought for the dialectic of theory and practice, in which the often overlooked and for- gotten multidimensionality of the Christian concept of conscience can unfold. The mutual reflection of Veritatis splendor and Amoris laetitia results in a conception of conscience that can express the scope of the concept of conscience and at the same time the dynamic char- acter and vitality of the Church’s teaching.
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The article is an attempt to indicate the factors determining the processes which may become the beginning of desirable changes in the Roman Catholic Church in Poland today, directed towards a real and authentic community of faith “koinonia”, both in the visible and spiritual reality. This is a theological-sociological study, the methodology of which is based on an analysis aimed at a social – creative diagnosis. In this analysis, scientific publications (theological, sociological) and press articles were used. Opinions and statements of people (mainly people of the Church, scientists, publicists, and journalists), presented in different mass media – in the Roman Catholic Church in Poland today – were also taken into consideration.
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The most frequent representations of the victory achieved against the dragon as the personification of Satan, sinful lusts, temptations, or heresy in Christian art of the Latin world, shows the defeat of this creature (or its substitute) by means of a cross, sword or spear, however while rarely by means of by the gesture of calcatio, that is by tram- pling. In Catholic tradition Mother of God, Archangel Michael and Saint Margaret trample the dragon, and its substitute. This article only sketches the problem because its subject is very broad, but despite this modesty, it brings the truth about the victory possible only thanks to the power of God.
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Despite the difficult economic situation of the inhabitants of the Wieluń district in the Second Polish Republic and the necessity for their emigration mainly to Germany for work purposes, they were characterised by deep religiousness. Bishop Teodor Kubi- na underlined this fact many times in his utterances. It had an influence on the organisation of the Eucharistic Congress, which was the third most important one in the diocese of Częstochowa, between 27th–29th June 1931 in the town of Wieluń. It took place with the involvement of the inhabitants of the Wieluń district, who walked in the pilgrimage from their parishes, which reflected their great respect towards the Divine Sacrament. This event deepened their religiousness, and it resulted in an even greater engagement in the activities of the Catholic associations.
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The article is devoted to the analysis of the murder of the parish priest of st. John Bosco in Luboń, made on Feb- ruary 27, 1938 by a communist agitator. Despite the fact that so many years have passed since the priest’s death, the matter raises many emotions to this day, because the pastoral and social activity of rev. Steich left behind abundant and blessed fruits, and he himself became a candidate for the glory of the altars on the way of martyrdom. In the canonization inquiry aimed at recognizing martyrdom, the Church pays special attention to the need to accept death, as exemplified by Christ, and reminds us that from ancient times martyrdom was compared to water baptism and was called the baptism of blood. However, this does not change the fact that the essential elements to be considered in such proceedings, conducted in this way, are: indication of a specific person of the martyr and the persecutor, proof of the actual death, as well as the cause of death. All these areas of research not only appear in the “crime of Luboń”, but confirm and ensure that the Servant of God, rev. Stanisław Streich is an in odium fidei martyr, and his beatification is a matter of time.
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The matter of this paper is the ethics of masculinity in the contemporary world from the perspective of the figure of St. Joseph. As a “just man” St. Jospeh has been understood in the writings of St. Alphons M. Liguori as a man who possesses all the vir- tues. Starting from this assertion the author develops the ethics of masculinity. In the first point is the speech about the masculine form of justice. The next point concerns some of the problems with masculinity in the contemporary world. At the end of this article the author speaks about concrete proposals for the masculinity in our days on the basis of the figure of St. Joseph. The paper presents the possibility of morality, that abandons the paradigm of control and dominion and embraces the style of sharing and of caring.
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The war in Ukraine is, since February 2022, the main theme of a lot of discussions, especially in political circles and an important question for societies in Europe and throughout the world. The reflection on this theme includes different as- pects of not only geopolitical and economical character, but ethical too. The present article talks about questions which during the actual war in Ukraine bring up the principle of the Christian or Catholic ethics of war and of peace. Some of these principals are ineffective like political efforts and demand rethinking and reformulation. One of the main questions concerns the position towards war, others concern the conditions of the traditional under- standing of a just defense and the causes of this military conflict. The war in Ukraine rous- es questions about responsibility and the rule of international organizations and about the means to safeguard peace. The Christian or Catholic understanding of the ethics of war and peace is far from radical pacifism, but their principles demand in light of the war in Ukraine a rethinking and reformulation over some specific questions.
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The text examines the suitability of the ethical argumentations of church statements on the COVID-19 vaccination. More precisely, statements of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the COMECE/CEC and the DBK. The qualitative evaluation of these statements is carried out in three steps: First, the ethi- cal argumentation lines are elaborated. They refer centrally to the concept of the common good, solidarity, and a theologically charged concept of care-love. In the second step, the lines of argumentation are subjected to a critique, which reveals that they can be accused of “underrepresentation”, “underexposure” and “lack of complexity” in individual traits. In the third step indications are given as to how such statements could be formulated more successfully in the future.
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The present article contains a synthesis of several historical-theological studies of the thought of Joseph Ratzinger. The methodolo- gy used is systematic, positive, and descriptive. In these lines the central ideas of the theolog- ical thought of Joseph Ratzinger / Benedict XVI are presented, with the intention of appre- ciating the unifying and integral perspective present in his ideas, as certain current authors have proposed. The various themes of Ratzinger’s theology are structured around what we have called the theological principles of his thought: Christ, Sacred Scripture, Ecclesiology, Mariology, and Liturgy, to which are added the practical and more pastoral aspects, present in the non-exclusive categories of proclamation and mission. Many other arguments could be included in this article, even if the development and exposition of the themes presented aim to explain the intrinsic unity found in the thought of the German theologian.
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The article describes the moral catechesis of Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, addressed to catechumens on the basis of the treatise De Abraham. Although it is not a work intended only for those preparing for baptism, it contains a number of instruc- tions in which the catechist, addressing the candidates directly, presents the guidelines of a Christian moral life in matters of marriage, family, raising children, and social relations. The article shows how the bishop, using episodes from the life of Abraham, presents him as a model to follow also for those who wish to enter the community of the Church.
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The present article talks about the mystery of mercy as revealed in the inspiring pages of the New Testament. The au- thor has relied only on the selected texts in which the various dimensions of God’s merciful love are discussed. The books of the New Testament emphasize mercy as an attribute of God the Creator and Savior perfectly revealed in His Son, Jesus Christ. To Him, mankind owes salvation and sanctification, which was fulfilled by His death and resurrection. Christ, who fully revealed God as a merciful Father, did so through words and works, thus fulfilling the announcements of the Old Covenant.
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Among the graphic motifs used to decorate initials on medieval documents of Wrocław bishops, several dominant tendencies can be distinguished, such as decorations with animal motifs – fish, floral motifs – oak and grapevines, as well as in the form of geometric patterns. A relatively common practice was to combine geometric elements with plant or animal, which resulted in the creation of specific ornamental hybrids. Moreo- ver, the initials were decorated by filling the initial with the ink, which the entire document was written, increasing the initial with respect to the entire text, and drawing only the out- line of the letter with the probable intention of filling it in later. The analyzed documents were also familiar with leaving empty spaces in places where initials should appear.
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The largest group among people honored by the Yad Vashem Institute in Jerusalem with the Righteous Among the Nations medal is the Polish. One of them was Mother Teresa Janina Kierocińska (1885–1946), Mother Superior of the Convent of the Carmelites of Infant Jesus in 1921–1946. She offered refuge and hid both Jewish children and adults in the convent house in Sosnowiec. Moreover, she also helped other people re- pressed by occupational German authorities, e.g., prisoners of concentration camps and members of the resistance. This article presents the circumstances resulting in the nun’s involvement in aiding the Jewish community. The contents include large quotes of memo- ries of the convent sisters and inhabitants of Sosnowiec, drawing her picture as the “Mother of the Zagłębie region”.
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The article is an attempt to analyse the actions taken by the Catholic Church in defence of school retreats and to assess their effectiveness in the light of documents from the party-state authorities. Despite the agree- ment signed with the Church in 1950, the authorities used numerous mechanisms and means to combat the teaching of religion and its manifestations in and outside school. In defence of school retreats, priests carried out extensive information campaigns about the right of young people to have days off to take retreats, also using pulpits and parish communities for this purpose, adapted the hours of meetings with pupils to their school timetables and made their form more attractive. The measures taken by the Church proved effective, so the authorities secularised schooling by law in 1961
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