Poland’s Catholic Church is developing crisis plans with the government to prepare parishes as emergency centres in the event of war or natural disasters, the head of the Polish bishops’ conference said.
Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda, chairman of the Polish Episcopal Conference, said there are fears that war could reach Poland amid Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Iran war.
“Fortunately, we are not standing passively by, waiting for events to develop,” he told the Polish Press Agency in an interview published on Monday.
The government has agreed to provide parishes with electricity generators, water supplies, medicines, and hygiene products in the event of a crisis, according to Wojda.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński met with bishops at the conference’s general secretariat on 10 March during the 404th plenary meeting of the bishops’ conference.
The meeting focused on cooperation between the state and the church to assist people affected by natural disasters, catastrophes and potential military threats, according to a statement from the Interior Ministry. The ministry described the church as “a pillar to strengthen local security.”
Common practice
The bishops’ conference has established a working expert team to develop procedures for crisis preparedness and security threats, according to Fr Leszek Gęsiak, the conference’s spokesman.
Rev Dr Jarosław Mrówczyński, deputy general secretary of the bishops’ conference, will coordinate the team.
The activities will be “of a routine nature and will be part of the standard duties of the state in the field of civil protection and civil defence,” Gęsiak said. The aim is to create clear, coordinated procedures to support citizens in a crisis.
The working group includes representatives from about a dozen institutions, including Caritas Poland.
The plan covers three key areas: assisting refugees and organising humanitarian corridors, using the parish network to distribute food, water and shelter, securing parish facilities as first-aid points, and evacuating and protecting monuments.
Wojda said “priests are aware of the problem they may face” and special workshops and training are already being conducted in many places.
“The government is aware that in a crisis situation most Poles will first turn to the church for help, and only then to municipal institutions and offices,” Wojda said.
Gęsiak said cooperation between social organisations, including religious associations, and the crisis management system is common practice in Poland and elsewhere.
“The experience of recent years – helping refugees from Ukraine or responding to the 2024 flood – has confirmed the value of such cooperation,” he said.