The Ambivalent Attitude of the Catholic Church in Poland Towards the COVID-19 Pandemic

Any pandemic is a serious infectious disease that spreads rapidly among people and oc-curs at the same time not only in one country but throughout the world. Its appearance has a de-structive effect on diverse social life, including religious life. In the case of religious associations, the rules introduced by local authorities and governments restrict the physical access of believers to their communities, limit personal contacts with religious leaders and make it difficult to organize religious services and ceremonies. This is also the case of the pandemic caused by the SARS-Cov-2 virus. The article presents the restrictions introduced by state institutions after the announcement of the COVID-19 pandemic and the attitude of the Catholic Church in Poland to them. The issue of vaccination and the involvement of religious leaders in its popularization is discussed. The article also addresses the issue of the decline of Church recognition in the Polish community, which dates back to the time before the pandemic outbreak. Finally, it addresses the widely practiced taking of communion by hand and ecumenical engagement during the pandemic. The former can be a seri-ous problem in combating the spread of the virus, while the latter is again not so important for a sizable group of Catholics who take a traditional approach to their faith in pandemic times.