Polish Masses are here to stay, promises Cardinal
By Mark Greaves
14 March 2008

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor has promised that Polish-language Masses will continue to be provided in Britain.

He made his pledge in Poland on a sensitive diplomatic mission to mend fences with the Polish hierarchy. Relations were damaged months ago when the Cardinal spoke of his concern that Poles in Britain were creating "a separate Church" and should instead join English-speaking parishes.

His comments distressed Poles who believed the celebration of Mass in Polish was under threat.

But in Warsaw last week the Cardinal said that the pastoral care of migrants must include the celebration of the sacraments in Polish "as people must have the opportunity to celebrate their faith in ways they are used to".

He announced that a working party had been established to advise on the "appropriate structures" to accommodate Polish migrants in England and Wales.

It is likely to be headed by bishops from both countries and will consider whether to revise a 60-year-old agreement that allows the Polish Church to run parishes in England and Wales. The Polish Catholic Mission, led by the vicar-delegate Mgr Tadeusz Kukla, has over 100 priests and 200 pastoral centres and was established for political refugees fleeing from Communism.

During his two-day trip to Warsaw Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor did not back down from his argument that Poles should become more involved in parish life.

He said that Polish priests who live in Britain should speak the language fluently and should co-operate more with the English clergy.

"I am conscious that many Polish people working in Britain would like to return to Poland. That's why they want to pray in their own language," he said.

"But many of them will stay and establish families, and those people could contribute a lot to Catholic life in Britain."

At a press conference Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor and Polish Cardinal Josef Glemp came close to a consensus on how the Church should deal with Polish migrants.

Before Christmas Cardinal Glemp issued a message which directly opposed Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor's call for Poles to join English parishes. Instead he insisted that Polish migrants should "seek out Polish pastors" and "find Polish Church centres".

But last week he appeared to soften his stance. "We are one Church and this is why assimilation is necessary," he said. "But it has to be planned thoughtfully and with good will."

Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor, meanwhile, tried to clarify his earlier comments. He told the KAI media agency: "I was talking about 'integration' of Polish people. I think I should have used another word which was suggested today by Cardinal Josef Glemp. That is 'assimilation'. It means that Polish people can maintain their own traditions and at the same time keep in touch with the Catholic Church in English parishes."

The Cardinal attended a meeting of all the bishops of Poland and delivered an address partly in Polish. He said that European Catholic bishops were connected by their shared efforts to look after "the needs of those who have left their homes in search of a new life, new families and a better standard of living".