Działania komunistów wobec Kościoła rzymsko i greckokatolickiego na terenie południowowschodniej Rzeszowszczyzny w latach 1944-1947

Abstract

After World War II the Catholic Church in Poland had to face hard tasks concerning the renewal of religious life in new socio-political conditions. The concept of the state introduced by communists could be achieved only by lessening the role and status of the Catholic Church in the society. The actions taken against the Roman-Catholic Church by the Security Apparatus were, in fact, restricted to observations of the clergy and checking suspicions of contacts with the underground resistance movement. However, the first repercussions struck the clergy in the Rzeszów area as early as between 1944 and 1947. They concerned mainly the priests actively involved in the fights for independence during the war, and connected with anticommunists after the war. Much earlier the repercussions were aimed at the Greek Catholic Church. Imprisonment of bishops and priests, as well as the repatriation of the majority of the faithful caused the decline of the Uniat Church. The fate of this Church was sealed with the ‘Wisła’ Operation, which resulted in moving the clergy to the west and north of Poland, taking them to the Soviet Union and imprisoning at the Main Labour Camp in Jaworzno. During the next years the relations of the Church and the State were gradually declining as the result of moving away from the lawful norms.