Bishops Urged to Support Polish American Parishes
ACPC Calls Situation of Polish Catholics in the U.S. “Alarming”....Sep. 2003
Polish-American Journal
www.polamjournal.com

     MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The national American Council for Polish Culture (ACPC) called on U.S. Catholic bishops to “shepherd, nurture, and support” Polish-American parishes in the U.S. in a resolution passed at the Council’s convention in Minneapolis, Aug. 10.

     The Council justified this step by the loyalty of Poles throughout the world to the Catholic Church, their contribution to the Church in the U.S., and Pope John Paul II’s call for Polish Americans to keep their heritage alive. Despite this, the Council noted that “an alarming number of Polish American parishes have suffered misguided attempts to eliminate their Polish character against their will, had the sacred art of their churches gutted, have been combined with other parishes, or have been closed.” According to experts, while there were once 800 Polish-American parishes in the U.S., only about 300 are still in existence.

The resolution passed by an overwhelming 61-1 vote.

     “Our community made and continues to make extensive sacrifices for the Church, we are loyal to Church teachings, but yet we are often treated as a second-class group by some Church officials,” said John Radzilowski, a fourth-generation Polish American who was one of the sponsors of the resolution. He stated that within the last five years Polish-American parishes have been closed or threatened in many areas including Baltimore, Maryland; Buffalo, New York; Washington State, and Deluth, Minnesota.

     Radzilowski said that the issue was one of fairness. He cited a recent case in Pennsylvania, where a local bishop refused permission for Polish-American Catholics to print a hymnal in Polish and form a Polish-language choir. In another case in Wisconsin, the local bishop refused to allow former parishioners to even examine a closed Polish church with a view toward converting into a historical site and community center. “In neither case would the bishop offer any explanation for these actions. There seems to be a real attitude of bureaucratic hostility toward Polish culture and communities in some diocese.” Radzilowski noted.

     Another delegate explained that for Polish Americans, “the parish is the center of their community’s religious, social, cultural, political and often economic life.” He added that many Church officials “can’t understand this because they see the Church as a business, not as an organization created by Christ for our salvation which is meant to embrace the whole of our lives.”

     The American Council for Polish Culture is made up of 38 local affiliate organizations in 17 states and the District of Columbia. It was founded in 1948. According to the 2000 Census there are nearly 10 million Polish Americans in the U.S. The largest populations are in Illinois, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Connecticut, and Minnesota, with significant communities also in Florida, Texas, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Maryland and California. More information: acpcconventionmpls@hotmail.com.

Polish-American Journal…September-2003 www.polamjournal.com Subscription: 800-422-1275