POLAND AND THE HOLY SEE BEFORE THE NEGOTIATIONS ON THE 1993 CONCORDAT

Between October 1989 and March 1993, contacts between Poland and the Holy See prepared the ground for the negotiations which culminated in the signing of the Concordat agreement on 28 July 1993. After the breakthrough of 1989, both Prime Minister T. Mazowiecki and President L. Wałęsa chose the Holy See as the first port of call of their official visits. In so doing they emphasised the role of Pope John Paul II and the Catholic Church in Poland's emancipation. A draft convention on the relations between Poland and the Holy See already existed as a result of talks between the Communist Government and the Polish Episcopate in 1987-1988. When the breakthrough occurred, negotiations had not yet reached the level of the Holy See. The draft convention, however, became irrelevant when the political situation in Poland changed and the Communist Party lost power, which meant that a new text had to be drafted. The Holy See suggested that discussions on that text be postponed. Nonetheless, in the talks between the new Government and the Holy See, both sides continued to systematically emphasise the need for a concordat. Those talks resulted in a common vision on the relations between the State and the Church. Both parties agreed that the State and the Church, though independent and autonomous, would work together towards the development of the human being and for the common good. This common stand paved the way for a concordat. The Holy See submitted a draft of a concordat in October 1991. In the same year general elections were held in Poland but political instability in 1992 delayed discussions on it. Poland submitted its draft in March 1993 and suggested that draft as the basis for negotiations. The Holy See accepted that suggestion and negotiations started on 3 April 199