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Edith Stein is widely recognised as a saint, a martyr, a victim of the Holocaust and a female philosopher – but can she be a Doctor of the Church? So far, thirty-seven figures, including four women, carry the title due to their so-called ‘eminent doctrines’, eminentes doctrinae. For centuries, a procedural difficulty existed in awarding the titles to martyrs, however, in the second decade of the 21st century, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints reached a conclusion that martyrdom is not, in principle, an obstacle in awarding the title. A question, therefore, can be posed: does the legacy of someone among the Christian martyrs fulfill the criteria of the Church’s Doctorate? The aim of this article is to investigate the criteria for conferral of the title of the Doctor of the Church, prime among which is a criterion called eminens doctrina, and apply them to one example, that of Edith Stein. In doing so, I consider the question purely historically and philosophically, starting out with definitions of the Father of the Church and the Doctor of the Church in part one (published in June 2023, no 1, p. 131–149). In the second part of the article (available below), I ask what aspects of the female martyr’s theology, philosophy and spirituality fulfill the criteria of an eminent doctrine, as formulated in the Church’s documents, and which are insufficient or lacking. In order to highlight the nature of a particular criterion, I contrast Stein’s case with other recently debated cases, such as those of Irenaeus of Lyons and John Paul II.

The entire history of Europe and the awareness of a common identity formed in its course are clearly and deeply marked by Christianity and indicate a close relationship between the Church and Europe. Both in the West and in the East, the Church desires to contribute to the European Union. It feels responsible for the shape of the Old Continent and is convinced that it can also make an important contribution to the establishment of new institutional forms. In the age of pluralism and respect for all religious beliefs it is unacceptable that a tendency to discriminate against any religion should come to the fore. Since the European Union engages in dialogue with political parties, trade unions and representatives of various religions, it would be incomprehensible if the same attitude was not displayed towards Christianity. Above all, one must not ignore the transcendent dimension possessed by each human being. Indifference to this dimension may lead to tragic consequences and the European continent has seen plenty of those painful examples throughout its history. From the beginning of his pontificate, John Paul II expressed a great interest in European affairs. He showed Europeans a vision of unity in diversity, creative fidelity to Christian origins, in freedom, truth and solidarity.

This article evaluates the experience of suffering and its redemptive value in the light of St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. It begins by exploring how man was created in “the beginning,” before the experience of evil and sin. Man’s “original experiences” of solitude, unity and nakedness help man to understand himself as a being who is always in relation and is called to transcendence. These experiences continue to resonate within man, though sin can blind him from interpreting them correctly. Instead of man’s body opening him to relations and receiving the love of God and neighbor as a gift, he often experiences shame for his disordered desires, which enclose man within himself. While shame can be a negative experience, it is also a “boundary experience,” in that it points man to an original goodness that is now lacking due to the experience of evil. Suffering, likewise, can be a boundary experience that opens man, through his vulnerability, to recognizing his need for communion with God and neighbor. Christ, therefore, does not eliminate suffering but redeems it, transforming it into a revelation of God’s love. Suffering has become a path to conversion, to rebuilding goodness in man’s heart, and to liberation from evil. Redemption occurs when man freely opens himself to Christ’s love in the midst of suffering, making up for what is “lacking” in Christ’s suffering: our participation. Suffering isn’t a problem to be solved so much as a mystery to enter into. Through participation in Christ’s suffering, not only is man able to experience his own redemption, he can also offer his body with Christ for the redemption of the world.

In the history of European civilisation there have been several documents of particular cultural weight and symbolic meaning. From Magna Carta Libertatum of 1215 to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948 we can trace the development of political ideas which, while being rooted in religious and philosophical thought, have had a strong impact on the lives of whole societies. In this article I attempt to look at the famous 21 Gdańsk demands from that perspective. The document, signed in August 1980 kindled a peace process which culminated in the collapse of communism in Europe. I would like to infer a relation between the possibility of signing such a document and the election of Karol Wojtyła as Pope. It also seemed interesting to compare the content of the 21 Gdańsk Agreement with that of the less well-known Rzeszów-Ustrzyki Dolne Protocol signed several months later.

The 7th Pilgrimage of the Holy Father to Poland was a special time for the Tarnowski Church community, because during the pilgrimage John Paul II was to come to Stary Sącz to canonize Saint Kinga. An important element of any liturgical meeting are song sand liturgical music. The present study aims to show various aspects of preparations in the musical field, from the liturgical theme of the celebration, through the performers, to the planned repertoire of songs. The canonization of Saint Kinga decided the subject matter of the texts, the performers were joined by choirs and orchestras, while the repertoire consisted of songs in honor of Saint Kinga, Eucharistic songs intended for the common singing of the entire community and choral works with orchestra accompaniment. Its character emphasized the very festive mood of this feast of faith.

Mieczysław Kotlarczyk played an important role in the life of Pope John Paul II. The spiritual bond between friends born in the same city exerted a significant impact on both their lives and work. And yet it remains unknown to the public, just as Kotlarczyk himself. Raised in a theatre-related family, Kotlarczyk remained affiliated with the theatre throughout his life. This paper presents his life path and the fate of the Rhapsodic Theatre, which Kotlarczyk was managing from 1941, and which operated under the auspices of the “Unia” (“Union”) underground organization. After World War II, despite reprisals from the communist authorities and the subordination to thesecret service, Kotlarczyk tried to continue his activity. In 1953, the Rhapsodic Theatre was liquidated by the authorities. Even though in 1957, as part of the so-called thaw, there was a consent to reactivate the theatre, ten years later however, it was definitely shut down. Among those protesting against the decision, was Karol Wojtyła, the then Archbishop of Kraków.

The article is devoted to the history of the edition of literary and theater works of Karol Wojtyla – John Paul II. Based on the surviving materials in the archives, often unknown facts were presented showing the subsequent phases of discovery of Wojtyła as a poet, playwright, and actor

Among all sorts of technological and cultural breakthroughs affecting our civilisation which we have witnessed over the last few decades, the changes regarding the most intimate spheres of human nature, those of sexuality, may have passed unnoticed. A series of changes in social norms triggered after 1968 resulted in a situation which, as far as sexuality is concerned, can be described as a real „controversy over human existence”. This paper will briefly outline some of the characteristics of the social changes that have occurred over the past fifty years and which have had a significant impact on the understanding of the nature of sexuality. Then, two apparently competing visions of man, the traditional and the modernist will be compared. As far as the traditional concept is concerned, reference will be made to the teachings of John Paul II. The modernist approach will be illustrated based on the „Standards for Sexuality Education in Europa” formulated by the World Health Organisation. The objective is not to settle the dispute, but to try and highlight its substance as well as the consequences arising from adopting one or the other of the proposed approaches.

Many young men and women are often confused when it comes to choosing their vocations and careers. According to Pope John Paul II in PastoresDaboVobis, “Each Christian vocation comes from God and is God’s gift. However, it is never bestowed outside of or independently of the Church. Instead it always comes about in the Church and through the Church a luminous and living reflection of the mystery of the Blessed Trinity.” What churches are doing with youth is commendable. Pope John Paul II earned the confidence of young people because he took them seriously. They sensed that he understood their concerns. He challenged them to give their lives to Christ. He appealed to their high ideals, inviting them to take a lead in the New Evangelization. Amidst the contemporary challenges facing young people, it would be appropriate to find ways of helping youth discern God’s call in their daily struggles. This implies learning to discern God’s voice hidden in the chaos of other worldly voices. The worldly allurements seem to have a great impact amongst youth. They therefore require some guidance from their parents and spiritual leaders in order for them to make the right decisions. This article looks at how Pope John Paul II treated the issue of vocational discernment among young people.

The presented text aims to distinguish the understanding of the concept of salvation by two significant Christian scholars: John Paul II and Paul Tillich. They come from two separate Christian traditions: Catholicism and Lutheranism. The concept of salvation is so crucial that it is the essence of understanding Christianity and, if recognized as the goal of every human life, the effort of understanding it becomes even more important. An insight into the notion of salvation, based on the indication of similarities and differences in its understanding, makes it more comprehensible and accessible to every Christian.

An in ‑depth analysis of writings of John Paul II leads to a conclusion that the Pope cared for upbringing that would foster to values. He clearly indicated that the person is to be viewed as the foundation of the process of upbringing and also stressed the significance of upbringing towards life in the family, nation and Church. The author of this article accounts for and presents the problem of upbringing towards values, which is interpreted from the teachings of John Paul II. First, the author indicates the complementary character of education, religion and faith, then they are oriented towards the world of values and the Christian hierarchization of these values.

This article is a description of the current situation of the family from a Christian perspective and is divided into three chapters according to the method of the catholic social teaching: see judge, act. In the first part, a analysis of reality is presented, that is a sociological view of the situation of the family in the European countries. The outline of the situation of the family is shown in three dimensions (socio-cultural, political and economic). The second part briefly treats the Catholic teaching on the family, especially their social significance according to John Paul II. The third part formulates practical conclusions to the question of what we can and should do to promote the family. It is the aim of Christian social ethics – as an instrument of evangelization – to draw adequate conclusions resulting in effective actions of Christians. It is about building bridges between theology and the challenges of the present. Without a doubt, the family is not just a relic of the past, as it was provocatively formulated in the title, but it is, and will continue to be, the foundation of the future.

Contemporary social discourse utilizes scientific criteria to analyze events, texts and people’s behaviour from the point of view of their power and impact on historical transformations. Printed and audio-visual materialregarding John Paul II’s pilgrimage to the Middle East in the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 were published and made public during his visit and shortly afterwards. In retrospect, this event allows for a well-balanced semiotic analysis focusing on the intentional selection of places visited by the Holy Father, his rhetoric used both in official and private speeches, the symbolism of his gestures and overall behaviour, especially in their religious and cultural context, as well as on the presence of signs and symbols in the whole conception of the pilgrimage project. This paper attempts to synthesize these elements which result from an earlier interdisciplinary analysis, taking into consideration the different perspectives be it historical, socio-religious (referring to three monotheist religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam), rhetorical and aesthetic. In this case, semiotics provides a framework to analyze and justify the contribution of the mentioned pilgrimage in a broad context of a redeeming Church in the early 21 st century.

A parish is a certain community of the Christian faithful constituted in a particular church, whose pastoral care is entrusted to a pastor ( parochus ) as its proper pastor ( pastor ) under the authority of the diocesan bishop. This article takes up the idea of entrusting the parish to an institute or society. The entrusting of a parish can be made either perpetually or for a specific, predetermined time. In either case, it is to be made by means of a written agreement between the diocesan bishop and the competent superior of the institute or society, which expressly and accurately defines, among other things, the work to be accomplished, the persons to be assigned to the parish, and the financial arrangements.

Dominant trends within the philosophical debate over personhood and identity tend to discount the significance and meaning of the human body and often slip into dualistic conceptions. I will argue that a Catholic theology of the body challenges many of the prevalent understandings in bioethics today. Such a notion takes Christ’s Incarnation as its foundation and seeks to develop an account of the human body in the context of the call to communion imprinted on humanity as made in the image of the Trinitarian communion of love. Such a conception counteracts forms of utilitarian or technological reductionism of the person. While Catholic bioethicists will need to consider how such an account will have practical applicability to cases, the call to communion ought to be fostered through the liturgical life of the Church, which enables Catholic bioethicists to develop a liturgical worldview that guards against devaluations of the dignity of the human person.

John Paul II has presented the Bishops’ Conference both in his large teaching about bishop’s ministry and his legislative role. In his genuine teaching about that, Pope using precise theological and legal terms, strengthen the theological and juridical nature of the Bishops’ Conferences. In this article a detailed analysis is made of the first fifteen years of teaching of the Pope John Paul II about the Episcopal Conferences communion and collegiality. The main sources of this paper are Apostolic Letter Apostolos Suos , that clarifies the theological and legal nature of Bishops’ Conferences, and Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops Apostolorum Successores, which refers to Bishops’ Conferences as instruments of communion in the Church and alive expression of bishop collegiality at the extent that it is their responsibility.

The Author of the article assumes that the charisma of John Paul II – at least in the symbolic sphere – has impeded intensifying trends in Polish society toward moral permissivism and relativism in everyday life. In Polish society, the image of John Paul II remains not only as a moral authority and a model, but above all, he is seen as a person who throughout his whole life proved his worth as someone important to the core of Polish society. As an authority linked to the sacred sphere, he was, at the same time very human. Even among those who believe that in Polish society there are essentially no authorities left to look up to, one can fi nd many people who are still inclined to recognize the Polish Pope as a signi fi cant moral authority. There is no doubt that John Paul II had a positive in fl uence on the religiosity and general image of the Church in Poland, even though it is somehow dif fi cult to measure that empirically. Experiences related to the Pope’s illness, and later, to his death had a signi fi cant impact on many Poles from throughout society. One can question whether Polish Catholicism with its folk and mass nature will retain its prevailing character, now when Pope John Paul II is gone. Even if the impact of John Paul II on Polish moral and religious awareness will be decreasing, it still will be important and signi fi cant for some period of time. The strong impact of this exemplary Polish Pope is also going to slow down the secularization process of Polish society. All sociological data indicate that the in fl uence of John Paul II on religiosity in his homeland will last for years to come, and hence, Poland will probably remain as a “speci fi c case” in Europe with regards to the role religion plays in society.

Pope John Paul II in his teaching on marriage had not limited the issue only to the principle that matrimonial consent makes marriage, but he put a real challenge in front of the canonists stating that the proper understanding of the consent may not be reduced to a certain historical patterns, but must be developed on the basis of anthropological and legal sciences. The article discusses four issues. Firstly, the author engages in the issue of impoverishment of ius in corpus as an essential element of the contract of marriage. Then, she sketches the view of the Second Vatican Council on matrimonial consent as a mutual gift of one person to another. Subsequently, the author deals with the in fl uence of personalism on the legal dimension of marriage. Finally, she presents the personalistic criteria in the Magisterium of John Paul II and its immediate legal dimension.

Generally speaking, young people in Poland do not reject religion. The vast majority of youth declare themselves to be believers. Their faith, however, is characterized by subjectivity and selectiveness. Situationism is a trait of the Polish young generation. They make their choices dependent on something... Gaining a good education, a good job and starting a family are important life goals for young people. The youth of the 21st century are called “the youth without wings”. Those young people do not have any great ideals. They are not attracted by high values of a changing the world, they do not aim at establishing a better social system. The youth of the 90’s used to set up non-governmental organizations, they took up social activity in the third sector. The young people of the 21st century comprise a generation focusing on their own future. It is not a struggling generation but rather one evading or minimizing their activity in spheres which do not bring them direct bene fi ts. Whatever is not practical, needed for today, is discarded.

One of the characteristics of the teaching of Pope John Paul II is his approach to the subject of faith and reason, which have played a central role in the development of civilization. They work best when they mutually challenge one another to look farther, to probe more deeply, in quest of truth. Hostility between faith and reason is not accepted because both have their source in God. But when both work together, the human person has the chance of discovering the full truth about himself, the world and God. The author of this article argues that a large number of papal documents and pronouncements of Pope John Paul II show his contribution towards the bringing together of natural sciences and theology. This is also a challenge for those who continue this effort.

Many people say that World Youth Day is Pope John Paul II’s best invention. However, he used to say that it was the young people themselves who invented it. The Pope felt that the Church’s concern for the younger generations should be made known. He issued invitation to young people to come to Rome for Palm Sunday. After two gatherings, at the end of 1985 he announced the institution of the World Youth Day that was to be celebrated every year in the dioceses. The diocesan celebrations were soon joined by international gatherings. The author of this article presents World Youth Day as the Church’s Day for youth and with youth. This idea is not an alternative to ordinary youth ministry, often carried out with great sacri fi ce and self-denial. Indeed it intends actually to consolidate this work by offering new encouragement for commitment, objectives which foster ever greater involvement and participation. By aiming to foster greater fervour in apostolate among young people, the Church desires to make them the protagonists of an apostolate which will spread to the other ages and situations of life in the ambit of new evangelization.

The purpose of this study is to outline the sources and aspects of the time- surpassing topicality of the Pope’s vision of integral education apparent in his anthropological, permeated with faith, re fl ection on man. In his vision, the internal perception conditions the integral education of man. The research con fi rms the thesis that the Pope’s pedagogy assumes an “adequate anthropology” and opens the human heart to the objective order of truth, including truth about Christ as “the centre of the universe and of history” ( Redemptor hominis , 1) and to the fundamental truth about man. The Pope’s pedagogy with its anthropological grounding is topical due to the fact that it offers, contemporary times permitting, a complete vision of human education. This vision goes against the culture of lost faith, dehumanisation, nihilism, and existential cynicism, and also against axiological relativism. In this vision, science, technology, art, peace, justice, God, true religion, nature, grace, faith, hope and love are not in complementary distribution, but complement each other. The timeless source of the topical quality of the Pope’s pedagogical message appears to reside in the compatibility and completeness of the human image it provides. It investigates the complex matter of education and the individual story of shaping personalities of outstanding individuals. With due respect and unanticipated amazement, it also provides an outline of the Catholic interpretation of education and the human condition.

The article treats the lasting relevance of the Magisterium of Blessed John Paul II during the Forty-sixth International Eucharistic Congress, held in the important Polish city of Wroc ł aw, in 1997. The article highlights the originality of the theme of the Congress, namely, the important relationship binding together the celebration/adoration of the Eucharist and human freedom, while making appropriate cross-references to the same topic in other documents by the Slav Pope. Eucharistic orthopraxis is not only related to disinterested service in favour of one’s neighbour in commendable actions of diakonia , but also to the quest for freedom in the context of the respect of civil and social liberties and the exercise of religious freedom.

John Paul II in his magisterial writings and papal teaching many times referred to the human being, whom he presented in a personal category. At the same time insisted that the major problem of modern civilization is a the wrong anthropology, which denies the spiritual dimension of human being. This wrong approach brings in consequences an instrumental treatment and disgraced human dignity. The human being as a person has the special value that should be af fi rmed for his own sake, not for any other reason. The human as a being made in the image and likeness of God has a dignity of the person. John Paul II insists that a capacity for relationship with God is of the very essence of human being. God’s invitation to a shared life is a gratuitous, unmerited gift to man who from the beginning was made capax Dei . In these re fl ections, John Paul II offers many insights about the nature of human identity and dignity. The relationship between human being and God is a guarantee of his dignity. For this reason, anthropology cannot keep only on what is immanent in human being, but applies also to the transcendence. Anthropology disconnected from the transcendent becomes something deeply inhuman. Depriving humanity of its most important dimension also deprives it from its full personal dynamism. Therefore, it appears appropriate to take in this article the issue of transcendence of the person, which is the foundation of anthropology and pedagogy presented by Pope John Paul II. Firstly, the need for portraying the human person as physical and spiritual being will be argued for presented. Then the paper will study the genealogy of humans in communion with the family. In the last part, the marriage as a community of man and woman will be discussed.

The Catholic Church’s teaching on the development of the nations is generally included in two documents: Populorum Progressio by Pope Paul VI and Sollicitudo rei socialis by John Paul II. This year marks the 25 th anniversary of publishing the Encyclical Sollicitudo rei socialis, hence the motive for writing this article. A characteristic feature of the teaching of John Paul II, which we fi nd in this Encyclical, is the ethical dimension of development. The Pope repeatedly drew attention to the inequitable distribution of material goods in the world. He stressed that “True development, in keeping with the speci fi c needs of the human being – man or woman, child, adult or old person implies, especially for those who actively share in this process and are responsible for it, a lively awareness of the value of the rights of all and of each person. It likewise implies a lively awareness of the need to respect the right of every individual to the full use of the bene fi ts offered by science and technology” Sollicitudo rei socialis 33. This article consists of the four following issues: 1. Populorum Progressio and a new analysis on the development of the nations; 2. The main motive for the publication of Sollicitudo rei socialis ; 3. The concept of development in the teaching of John Paul II; 4. Topicality of the papal document – 25 years later.

Blessed John Paul II has very clearly recognised the signs of time. He has also observed the destructive impulses in the West societies during the past several decades and has consistently pointed out in his encyclicals that in its search for identity and meaning, modern humanity was not able to fi nd a purpose and reason for living. His encyclics are precious gifts and directions for the Third Millenium. The most important aspects of his teaching are: Christ in the centere, co-workers of Kingdom of God, anthropology, reason and faith, defending life, Ut unum sint - the commitment to ecumenism, Totus tuus - the life of faith.

Pope John Paul II frequently describes humans in terms of personal being. One could say that this is one of the most fundamental aspects in his teaching. This text analyses the anthropology underlying his papal teaching in the context of the modern world and modern family life. The author emphasizes that the contemporary context reflects a multifaceted crisis affecting humans. The text explores a core aspect of Pope John Paul II’s teaching in his vision of the family, which is the issue of how to understand the human being as a person. Fundamentally the family is presented as a communion of persons, then a person is shown as the primary determinant in family education.

The article dwells upon the theme of the journey in the Mediterranean, the cradle of the three great monotheistic religions. Taking some paradigms for the journey from mythology, history and from Revelation, the physical journey is taken as a metaphor for the pilgrimage of life, an experience marked by maturation and conversion. This spiritual pilgrimage ultimately consists in the individual’s search for the Divine.

Jean-Marie Lustiger admired John Paul II and he was devoted to him. They both had similar origin. The Cardinal of Paris often accompanied the pope in his pastoral visits. He perceived John Paul II as the man of Providence. He was convinced that God had prepared him to this role. Jean-Marie Lustiger emphasized the attitudes of John Paul II that attracted the attention and admiration of observers. For instance: pray, holiness, attentive pastor and good relation with young people. Jean-Marie Lustiger as an attentive observer also focused his attention on the pastoral methods of John Paul II. In his utterances he often perceived the following methods: each person was important, defense of person’s dignity, the ability to speak with each man, modern language, importance of the pastoral visits and sui generis spiritual pedagogic. Jean-Marie Lustiger noticed radical change of perspective in preaching and in pastoral action of John Paul II. According to him the pope perceived the challenges of the modern times, evaluated needs of the humanity and gave the appropriate answers. For these he did not choose politics, sociology or even anthropology as a re fl ection but addressed to the hurt human who was redeem by Jesus Christ.

The article treats the lasting relevance of the Magisterium of Blessed John Paul II during the Forty-sixth International Eucharistic Congress, held in the important Polish city of Wrocław, in 1997. The article highlights the originality of the theme of the Congress, namely, the important relationship binding together the celebration/adoration of the Eucharist and human freedom, while making appropriate cross-references to the same topic in other documents by the Slav Pope. Eucharistic orthopraxis is not only related to disinterested service in favour of one’s neighbour in commendable actions of diakonia, but also to the quest for freedom in the context of the respect of civil and social liberties and the exercise of religious freedom.

One of the characteristics of the teaching of Pope John Paul II is his approach to the subject of faith and reason, which have played a central role in the development of civilization. They work best when they mutually challenge one another to look farther, to probe more deeply, in quest of truth. Hostility between faith and reason is not accepted because both have their source in God. But when both work together, the human person has the chance of discovering the full truth about himself, the world and God. The author of this article argues that a large number of papal documents and pronouncements of Pope John Paul II show his contribution towards the bringing together of natural sciences and theology. This is also a challenge for those who continue this effort.