Background
The Catholic Church in Poland suffered much during German occupation but its persecution continued and even intensified under the Stalinist regimes until 1956. With the change of leadership to Władysław Gomułka, relations improved, but continued to be difficult. Attempts to threaten the Church and paint it as anti-modern and reactionary became more subtle. One element was a governmental campaign for abortion and birth control. This took place against the background of the largest birth rate in Europe. The population grew annually by 500,000 persons. About 57,000 abortions were reported in the first quarter of 1960. The Polish hierarchy responded forcefully, by placing Poland in the millennium year of its Christianisation under the theme ”Respect for life”.
Read more about this topic: Humanae Vitae And Poland
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