For young Poles, the family is “a place where they can learn how to live, where they learn Christian values, where they can feel safe.” This statement was made Msgr. Jan Franciszek Wątroba, Bishop of Rzeszów and President of the Commission for the Family of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, at Stephen Leszczynski’s microphone during an interview for Vatican Radio on the occasion of their “ad limina” visit to the Vatican. The family has recently come under the threat of the proposal, made by some associations, to introduce gender ideology into the schools: “They want to change the definition of family and destroy the identity of man and woman. The issue is important—says the Bishop—also because the Ministry of Education has not spoken out against these practices. Another problem is the growing number of young people who live together. In cases where children are born, they are not educated in the Christian faith.” This is a difficult situation for the family in Poland, where however “the centers of family ministry also serve as a help to married couples who are in crisis and promote a Christian lifestyle” and the Catholic movements are “constantly growing.” Meanwhile, preparations are underway in the Polish dioceses for the upcoming Synod on the Family: “Many lay people have responded to the questionnaire, presenting their point of view, and they have spoken with the priests in order to help them to understand better the identity of the laity in the Church.”

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