Why is the Catholic church allowed to control so much of Polish politics?

I'm wondering why the Poles seem to be stupified by the church. It seems the folks are told what to think, how to vote, how to carry themselves. There's no discourse on women's rights, gay rights, democracy, freedom of speech....etc.

Have the voices of dissent been silenced? If so that's a sad state for a place that proudly began the anti-communist revolution.
I'm of Polish descent, hence my interest in what's taking place in Poland.

mainly by Radio Maryja ..... Father Rydzyk !!

The church has always played a major role in the lives of the Polish people .....especially when under communist rule.

its a fair comment - but maybe you are comparing it to a nation like usa and uk - there is not much influenmce btu then look at the state of these countires,, what rights do women have,,, they are abused at eveyr angle,,, they are harrassed in the name of freedom, the gift of motherhood no longer exists, its a metiarialistic society... in uk and usa there is no real freedom of speech, when you speak agianst soemone in power they ruen the case against U, the church has a set of values that are keepinmg the country stable, moral and ethical, in uk and usa for the sake of matiraliasm there is no care for animals the treatment of animals used by kfc - is this development... point i am making is for poland the church is important and they helped to defeat the communits

Thanks for your responses. (and, as an aside, thanks for being civil, it's more than I can say for alot of forums).

I've heard of Radio Maryja and it's influence in Poland. I hope that Poles are raising questions about the aforementioned.

Jareck8 >> I live in Canada, but I see your point about the US and the UK.
Having said that, without dissent there's no democracy. Someone has to stand up against the powers that be, whether it's in the US (my giant neighbour, one that's frightening me a bit...) or the UK or Poland.

Ethics and moralty are subjective. And please take no offence to this, but it seems Poland has a ways to go in both departments. From what I'm hearing Poland is wrought by corruption in politics and church. Folks that are most closely responsible for your well being (doctors, nurses, etc) are paid nothing for their efforts. Gays are treated like third class citizens. Crime rate is off the roof and alcohol consumption is at a high.

Don't get me wrong, I love Poland and I'm not trying to start a fight. I want the best for my "other" country and it's people. I'm just thinking that the church is too involved and, in my opinion, that's wrong. Give people the power, Poles have already done wonderful things in the world. Sometimes with credit (the anti-communist revolution), sometimes without (alot of WWII efforts have ben ignored and/or forgotten).

thanks for listening to my rant.:)

(p.s. don't get me started on fast food outlets............it's a sick business)

by US and Canadian standarts, yes.. but i don't think it's as bad as it may seem and it's kind of a norm of the slavs. scandinavians probably drink more then the slavs anyway. ;)

Could be :)
Though it really depends why a certain society consumes more than another.
According to the stuff I read Poles drink because they're unhappy, often dirt poor. Drinking their sorrows away, so to speak.

Please correct me if I'm wrong. The media here, from the Polish-Canadian community sources hasn't been very kind to what's going on in Poland.

thanks

The Roman Catholic Church has unified the Polish ethnic group through the centuries. The Poles in Belarus, The Ukraine, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Czechoslovakia are all Roman Catholic, a unifying element. In many of these mentioned countries lived Poles who were of the noble class and whose families were expected to give one son to the clergy (Roman Catholic). Some of the greatest, if not most Polish Catholic leaders were sons of the szlachti. Its hard for the present generation to understand, but religion was the most important aspect in the majority of Polish lives, before the Me generation surfaced post 1975 (or there abouts). I don't think Poland would have existed if not for the Roman Catholic Church. Remember Poland was not in existence for 125 years, and their neighbours were Lutheran Germany and Orthodox Russia. I am truly disgusted at how young Poles have turned their backs on the sustaining Roman Catholic Church and their Godly values. If you have any Polish pride, you owe a great deal to the Polish Roman Catholic Church!

I am from Dublin and could not believe how the church was so out of politics in this country, just goes to show.