Caritas Poland

Last updated
Caritas Poland
Caritas Polska
Established1990
TypeNonprofit
Legal statusnational charitable foundation
Location
Coordinates 52°14′52″N20°58′41″E / 52.24776°N 20.97795°E / 52.24776; 20.97795
Origins Catholic Social Teaching
Region served
Poland and worldwide
Fieldssocial work, humanitarian aid
Director
 Fr. Marcin Iżycki
Affiliations Caritas Europa, Caritas Internationalis
Staff (2022)
9,762 (diocesan level)
9,029 (parish level) [1]
Volunteers (2022)
61,138 [1]
Website www.caritas.pl

Caritas Poland (Polish : Caritas Polska) is a Polish Catholic not-for-profit social welfare and humanitarian relief organisation. It is a service of the Polish Bishops' Conference and the largest social welfare and charitable organisation in the country. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Caritas Poland is a member of both Caritas Europa and Caritas Internationalis.

History

By the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, there were different attempts to centralise and coordinate the Catholic Church's charitable activities in Poland. After the Second Polish Republic was established in 1918, this process accelerated. In 1922, an association of Polish Catholic charitable societies was created in Poznań and adopted the name Caritas. It was modelled after the German Caritas, which had been founded 25 years prior. Soon, Caritas associations were established in almost all dioceses. Work included care for children and young people, including through the founding of orphanages and other institutions. [5]

However, the further development of Caritas structures was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. Immediately after liberation in 1945, Archbishop Sapieha established a national Caritas headquarters, in accordance with the resolution of the Polish Episcopal Conference. In the context of large-scale destruction and huge shortages and needs, the Catholic Church joined in providing all kinds of help to the population. Branches of the renewed Caritas were established in parishes. [5] [6]

The communist authorities and the increased sovietization of the country stood in the way of the dynamically developing union. They saw the philanthropic activity of the Church as actions undermining their authority. The first restrictions on church organisations also appeared to reduce their influence on young people. On 12 January 1950, at a meeting of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, a plan was adopted to completely liquidate the Caritas organisation in Poland, under the pretext of embezzlement of funds. The liquidation took place on 23 January 1950 and the state took over its subordinate institutions. [5]

However, the end of the church structures as Caritas did not mean the cessation of the church's charitable activities, which continued at a lower scale. This activity was coordinated by the Polish Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Mercy, which was renamed the Polish Episcopal Charitable Commission in 1981. Departments of charitable pastoral care were established in individual dioceses, and charity teams were established in parishes. [6]

In 1989, the state and the church signed an agreement which made it possible to reactivate Caritas Poland and the diocesan Caritas. Caritas Poland was reactivated per a decree of the Polish Episcopal Conference of 10 October 1990 as an institution drawing inspiration from the charitable and social activities conducted in Poland before the Communist regime. [6] [4]

After the fall of communism in Poland, Caritas Poland grew massively. In the 21st century, Caritas Poland and its diocesan structures operate over 1,000 centres specialised in social assistance and in the field of medical and educational care. [7]

In 2021, the National Bank of Poland issued a special collector's coin in honour of the 30th anniversary of the reactivation of Caritas Poland. [4]

Structure

Caritas Poland operates through a national office and 44 diocesan and archdiocesan Caritas organisations across the country. The national office serves as the central coordinating body and also takes on formative and informative responsibilities. This includes conducting training courses, symposia, and conducting assessments to identify the extent of poverty in Poland. [8]

In addition to its coordination and educational functions, the national office plays an operational role by leading nationwide fundraising initiatives both domestically and internationally. Caritas Poland organises humanitarian transports and provides emergency and long-term assistance, offering material, psychological, legal, and financial aid to various vulnerable groups such as the unemployed, homeless persons, the sick, the elderly, children from struggling families, immigrants, and refugees. [8]

The diocesan structures of Caritas Poland are: [1]

Work

In 2022, Caritas Poland supported around 412,000 people with food aid, including 340,000 who received regular assistance. The organisation distributed more than 14,000 tons of food for a value of around 131.5 million złoty. In addition, around 47,500 children received material, educational or psychological. [1]

In addition, Caritas Poland provided support abroad in 33 countries on four continents at a level of more than 63 million złoty. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Church in Poland</span>

Polish members of the Catholic Church, like elsewhere in the world, are under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. The Latin Church includes 41 dioceses. There are three eparchies of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the country, with members of the Armenian Catholic Church under the Ordinariate for Eastern Catholics in Poland. The oridnaries of these jurisdictions comprise the Episcopal Conference of Poland. Combined, these comprise about 10,000 parishes and religious orders. There are 40.55 million registered Catholics in Poland. The primate of the Church is Wojciech Polak, Archbishop of Gniezno. In the early 2000s, 99% of all children born in Poland were baptized Catholic. In 2015, the church recorded that 97.7% of Poland's population was Catholic. Other statistics suggested this proportion of adherents to Catholicism could be as low as 85%. The rate of decline has been described as "devastating" the former social prestige and political influence that the Catholic Church in Poland once enjoyed. On the other hand, a 2023 survey of 36 countries with large Catholic populations using data from the World Values Survey revealed that 52% of Polish Catholics claimed to attend Mass weekly, the seventh highest of the nations surveyed and the highest among European countries. Most Poles adhere to Roman Catholicism. About 71.3% of the population identified themselves as such in the 2021 census, down from 88% in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polish Orthodox Church</span> Eastern Orthodox jurisdiction in Poland

The Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church, commonly known as the Polish Orthodox Church, or Orthodox Church of Poland, is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches in full communion. The church was established in 1924, to accommodate Orthodox Christians of Polish descent in the eastern part of the country, when Poland regained its independence after the First World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Wrocław–Koszalin</span> Ukrainian Catholic eparchy in Poland

The Ukrainian (Greek) Catholic Eparchy of Wrocław–Koszalin is a suffragan eparchy in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolis of Przemyśl-Warsaw, which covers some part of Poland for the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church parallel to the Latin hierarchy. It depends from the Roman Congregation for the Oriental Churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Chełmno</span> Former Roman Catholic diocese in Poland

The Diocese of Chełmno was a Catholic diocese in Chełmno Land, founded in 1243 and disbanded in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Warmia</span> Catholic archdiocese in Poland

The Archdiocese of Warmia is a Latin Church Metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Koszalin–Kołobrzeg</span> Latin Catholic diocese in Poland

The Diocese of Koszalin-Kołobrzeg is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction of diocese of the Catholic Church in northwestern Poland. The diocese is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Szczecin-Kamień. The Diocese of Koszalin-Kołobrzeg's cathedral is the Katedra Niepokalanego Poczęcia NMP, in Koszalin. There is also a co-cathedral, the minor basilica Bazylika Konkatedralna Wniebowzięcia NMP, in Kołobrzeg, both in Zachodniopomorskie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Zielona Góra–Gorzów</span> Latin Catholic diocese in Poland

The Diocese of Zielona Góra-Gorzów is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in Poland. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Szczecin-Kamień.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Przemyśl–Warsaw</span> Archeparchy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Poland

The Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Przemyśl–Warsaw is an ecclesiastical territory or ecclesiastical province of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church — a particular Eastern Catholic Church, that is located in the south-eastern part of Poland. It was erected in 1996. Its Byzantine Rite services are conducted in the Ukrainian language. As a metropolitan see, it has two suffragan sees: Olsztyn–Gdańsk and Wrocław-Koszalin. The incumbent ordinary of the archeparchy is Eugeniusz Popowicz. It is assisted and protected by the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches in Rome. The cathedral church of the archeparchy is the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, in the city of Przemyśl. Although the national capital of Warsaw was added to its title, there is no co-cathedral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Józef Michalik</span> Roman Catholic archbishop

Józef Michalik is a Polish Roman Catholic bishop, the diocesan Bishop of the Zielona Góra-Gorzów diocese in 1986-1993, Archbishop of Przemyśl in 1993–2016, and the president of the Polish Episcopal Conference in 2004–2014.

The Catholic Church operates numerous charitable organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franciszek Barda</span> Polish clergyman

Franciszek Barda was a Polish clergyman in the Catholic Church, doctor of theology, former rector for the Seminary of the Archdiocese of Kraków from 1930 to 1931, the auxiliary bishop of Przemyśl from 1931 to 1933 and the diocesan bishop of Przemyśl from 1934 to his death in 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kazimierz Romaniuk</span> 20th and 21st-century Polish Catholic bishop

Kazimierz Romaniuk is a Polish Catholic prelate, and professor of biblical studies. In 2004, Romaniuk became the bishop emeritus of the diocese of Warszawa-Praga. He was previously the rector of the Higher Metropolitan Seminary and the Academic Study of Catholic Theology in Warsaw, the auxiliary bishop of Warsaw, and the diocesan bishop of Warsaw-Praga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Szal</span> 21st-century Polish Catholic bishop

Adam Jan Szal is a Polish Roman Catholic bishop, being the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Przemyśl since 2016. He was previously the auxiliary bishop of the Przemyśl and titular bishop of Lavellum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Olsztyn–Gdańsk</span> Ukrainian Catholic eparchy in Poland

The Ukrainian (Greek) Catholic Eparchy of Olsztyn–Gdańsk is a suffragan eparchy in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolis of Przemyśl-Warsaw, which covers some part of Poland for the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church parallel to the Latin hierarchy. It depends from the Roman Congregation for the Oriental Churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krzysztof Włodarczyk (bishop)</span> Polish Roman Catholic bishop

Krzysztof Stefan Włodarczyk is a Polish Roman Catholic bishop. He was Bishop of the Diocese of Koszalin-Kołobrzeg between 2016 and 2021 and of the Diocese of Bydgoszcz since 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryszard Karpiński</span> Polish Roman Catholic prelate (1935–2024)

Ryszard Karpiński was a Polish prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as auxiliary bishop of Lublin from 1985 to 2011. He was also the titular bishop of Minervium until his death.

Piotr Krupa was a Polish prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as auxiliary bishop of Koszalin-Kołobrzeg from 1984 to 1992 and as auxiliary bishop of Pelplin from 1992 to 2011. He was also the titular bishop of Aquae Albae in Byzacena until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caritas Croatia</span> Croatian social welfare and relief organisation

Caritas Croatia, sometimes also translated as Croatian Caritas) is a Catholic not-for-profit social welfare and humanitarian relief organisation in Croatia. It is a service of the Episcopal Conference of Croatia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caritas Serbia</span> Serbian social welfare and relief organisation

Caritas Serbia is a not-for-profit social welfare and humanitarian relief organisation in Serbia. It is a service of the Catholic Church in Serbia.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Report 2022". caritas.pl. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  2. ↑ "Poland: Network of centres supports migrants and refugees". European Website on Integration. 30 December 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  3. ↑ "Poland's Catholics dig deep to help Ukrainian refugees". Catholic News Agency . 22 March 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 "30th Anniversary of the Reactivation of Caritas Poland" (PDF). National Bank of Poland . Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 Mandziuk, Józef (2020). "Działalność charytatywna w Polsce do 1989 roku" (PDF). Z pomocą potrzebującym. 30-lecie Caritas Polska: 65–91. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 "Historia Caritas w Polsce". okraglykosciol.pl. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  7. ↑ "Caritas Poland". caritas.eu. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  8. 1 2 "Pomóż i Ty – Caritas Polska". kul.pl . Retrieved 22 April 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.