Elementy doktryny społeczno-politycznej arcybiskupa Józefa Teodorowicza

Abstract

The foundations of this doctrine were constituted by the Christian conception of man and social life. Hence Archbishop Teodorowicz’s evaluations of other doctrines in this field were mainly of ethical character. He charged the theoretitians of liberalism with professing the principles of naturalism and rationalism. Archbishop Teodorowicz felt that socialism was not only opposed in its doctrine to Christianity, „but with an idolatrous worship and blind faith” in its ideas it tried to aim at man’s religious sense. Giving a negative appraisal to socialism, he noticed its merits in paying attention to the social question. The basic reason why Archbishop Teodorowicz rejected socialism was its programmatic atheism and materialism as well as the rejection of the sacramental character of the family and the absence of religious denomination. He charged socialism with „class egoism”, theoretism and „hatred”. On the other hand he supported social reformism. He promulgated solidarity which manifested itself in the unity of the country, unity of the nation. He professed the idea of inevitable social progress. The Archbishop’s views on the state and law did not differ from the traditional teachings of the Church and they were taken from the Thomistic philosophy developed by Leo XIII. Hence, according to Archbishop Teodorowicz, the hierarchical structure of the society and the hierarchy of human goals defined the relations between the Church and the state, and between the society and an individual and the state. In a model system of mutual cooperation of the Church, the state and the society in order to attenuate the economical and social status of the working class there appeared the conception of modern Christian democracy. In the Polish question – and more precisely in the question of independence – Archbishop Teodorowicz criticised servility to the partitioning governments. The clain for civil and national liberties he described as a necessity, and a rejection of the idea of independence he called „a harmful patriotic non-reason”. Independence should be „worked out” by the nation itself, by strengthening patriotism, recurring to tradition, national ideals, faith and civil virtue. During the war the Vienna government did not approve of his views and his political activity was limited to a minimum.