Poland between Emigration and Immigration in an Ecclesial Context

Abstract

Poland is associated primarily as a source of migration, but in recent years the country has become a place of settlement for refugees and migrants coming in particular from Eastern Europe. In this paper we first set out to present the current emigration from Poland, then presented the influx of foreigners to the same country. We also presented the consequences of emigration from Poland. Then we concentrated our analysis on the teaching of Church regarding emigrants, and in particular the care for their spiritual good. The second part of the article was devoted to immigration to Poland. The reflection ended with presentation of current data on the number of immigrants and the reasons for settling in Poland. We demonstrated the Polish state policy in this regard, to move on to the position of the Roman Catholic Church as regards the acceptance of refugees and migrants. Based on the analyses conducted we found that the policy of Polish state is open mainly to newcomers from Eastern Europe, while in relation to Middle East and Africa, the Polish government offers only assistance in temporary settlement of potential migrants. In turn, the Roman Catholic Church proclaims the need to be open to all people in need of help, although it notices the need to educate the public in this matter. The solutions adopted in Poland result in a mass influx of migrants from Eastern European countries, especially from Ukraine.