Leonid Luks's Lecture "Church and State in Communist Poland: Anatomy of Liberation (1945-1989)"

On September 13, 2019, within the framework of the seminar "West and East: Universalism of Culture", the academic supervisor of the IL for the Study of Russian and European Intellectual Dialogue, professor of the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt Leonid Luks gave a lecture

Professor L. Luks spoke about the “special way” of Polish Catholicism in communist Poland from 1945 to 1989.
From 1945 the Communists faced an internal political rival, namely Polish Catholicism, that constantly limited their omnipotence. The point here, however, was not at all that Polish Catholicism was particularly militant. The success of the Polish church in the struggle for survival depended primarily on the amazing flexibility of the influential layers of the Polish clergy, as well as some Catholic groups in the country.
Of course, only willingness to compromise would not be enough. Churches in other countries of the Eastern Bloc also tried to counter the frontal offensive of the new government with readiness for compromise and cooperation. However, they had to stake their independence. Fearing rivalry, the new government drove the Church out of public life. A distinctive feature of Polish Catholicism policy was the combination of willingness to compromise and firmness in everything that concerned the fundamental principles of its ethics and worldview. When those in power tried to encroach on them, they answered: “Only to this point - and no step further.”

Video of the Lecture (in Russian)