While in Hamburg (Germany) the fifteen Catholic schools of the archdiocese have begun to implement a framework of sex education questioned by a group of parents, the Polish Episcopal Conference has called on the Government to respect the educational rights of families regarding the new compulsory Health Education and to “immediately” restore the place of Religion classes in schools.
The position is set out in the declaration “The young deserve more”, dated in Warsaw on 24 August and signed by the three members of the Presidency of the Episcopal Conference: Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda, Metropolitan Archbishop of Gdansk and President of the Episcopate; Archbishop Józef Kupny, Metropolitan Archbishop of Wroclaw and Vice-President; and Bishop Marek Marczak, Secretary General.
The bishops particularly question “the vision of the human person, of marriage and of the family” that emerges from the programmes and textbooks of the new Health Education subject, which will be compulsory from 1 September, and maintain that leaving only the module specifically dedicated to sexuality as optional does not resolve their objections.
“Religion classes are not a privilege of the Church”
The declaration devotes one of its main sections to the reforms introduced by the Ministry of National Education in religious education.
“We wish to state clearly that Religion classes are not a privilege of the Church,” the bishops affirm. In their view, they constitute a constitutional right of pupils and their parents, derived from freedom of conscience and religion and from the right of families to educate their children in accordance with their convictions.
The Episcopal Presidency identifies four measures that are, in its opinion, leading to the marginalisation of the subject: the obligation to schedule Religion classes before or after other subjects, the reduction to one hour per week, the possibility of grouping pupils from different classes and the exclusion of the Religion grade from the calculation of the average mark.
“With concern born of care for the young generations, we observe the actions of the Ministry of National Education,” they state.
For this reason, they call for “the immediate restoration of the place that corresponds” to the subject and the opening of “a real dialogue” with the representatives of religious communities.
Religion or Ethics
The Presidency of the Episcopate also supports a citizens’ initiative bill aimed at ensuring that all pupils receive formation on the axiological foundations of life through one of two subjects: Religion or Ethics.
“Pupils should choose between Religion classes and Ethics classes,” the prelates maintain.
According to their explanation, young people need a space to address issues such as “responsibility, the dignity of the person, honesty, solidarity and the meaning of life in common.”
“It is a matter of responsibility for the future of the young generations,” they add.
Health Education will be compulsory from September
The second issue addressed by the bishops is the new Health Education subject.
The Episcopal Conference does not reject the need for schools to educate pupils on health-related matters. The document expressly recognises the importance of disease prevention, mental health and the acquisition of responsible social behaviours.
The objection is directed at the anthropological approach of certain contents.
“Our concerns refer to the vision of the human person, of marriage and of the family that emerges from the programmatic assumptions and the published textbooks,” the declaration states.
For this reason, the bishops receive “with concern and unease” the Ministry of Education’s decision to make the subject compulsory from next 1 September.
“The State must support the family, not assume its fundamental functions”
The Episcopal Presidency considers it insufficient that the module specifically dedicated to sexuality may be excluded from the compulsory part.
“The education of such a sensitive area of human life must respect the right of parents to decide on its form,” it maintains.
It then formulates one of the central statements of the document:
“The State must support the family in education, not assume its fundamental functions.”
The bishops call for sexuality to be presented “in the perspective of marital and family relationships,” because they consider that in this context “it serves the authentic good of the person.”
They also express concern about “the absence of an unequivocal position” according to which “marriage is the union of a woman and a man.”
The definition of marriage has recently occupied the country’s legal debate. This summer the Polish Constitutional Tribunal reaffirmed the constitutional protection of marriage as the union between a man and a woman.
Read also: Poland constitutionally reaffirms marriage as the union between a man and a woman
The bishops state that their requests were not heeded
The document also denounces the lack of sufficiently broad dialogue during the preparation of the new subject.
“The proposals and requests of the Roman Catholic Church were not taken into account,” the bishops affirm.
The Episcopal Presidency considers that a subject affecting such sensitive areas requires “a broad social consensus, programmatic transparency and real participation of parents and educational environments.”
For this reason, it calls for consultations with parents, educators and religious communities and the joint elaboration of contents that respect the convictions of families and pupils.
The contrast with the Catholic schools of Hamburg
The position adopted by the Polish bishops coincides in time with the entry into force of a sex-education framework in the fifteen Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of Hamburg, in Germany, which has provoked the opposition of a group of parents.
InfoVaticana examined in full the German document, entitled Männlich, weiblich, divers: Rahmenkonzept für sexuelle Bildung an den katholischen Schulen im Erzbistum Hamburg. Among its contents is the assertion that the human being is “a sexual being from the very beginning” and that “the positive experience of the gentle touches that the infant perceives during bodily hygiene is among the first sexual experiences.”
The difference between the two cases lies in who establishes the questioned contents. In Poland, the bishops face a subject promoted by the Ministry of Education for the school system and call on the State to respect the competences of families. In Hamburg, the framework is applied precisely in Catholic schools dependent on the archdiocese and has the backing of its educational authorities.
A group of parents from the German schools has tried to prevent its application. In February they addressed a letter to Leo XIV and in June they filed a canonical complaint against the Archbishop of Hamburg, Stefan Heße. The programme finally came into force without Rome having responded to either initiative.
While the German parents claim before the Church itself their capacity to intervene in the affective-sexual education their children receive in Catholic schools, the Presidency of the Polish Episcopate now formulates that principle before the State: “The education of such a sensitive area of human life must respect the right of parents to decide on its form.”
“Ask about the contents being taught”
The Polish bishops conclude precisely with a direct appeal to families to exercise those rights.
“Take part in school life, ask about the contents being taught, make use of your constitutional rights,” they urge parents.
They also thank Religion teachers for their perseverance “in the face of the accumulating difficulties” and offer the Church’s collaboration through consultations, family-support programmes, psychological assistance and spaces for dialogue between parents, schools and religious communities.
Below we reproduce in full (and translated into Spanish) the declaration of the Presidency of the Polish Episcopal Conference:
DECLARATION OF THE PRESIDENCY OF THE POLISH EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE
“THE YOUNG DESERVE MORE”
The education of the young generations is not the task of a single institution. The family, the school, religious communities, social organisations and the State together shape the space for the development of young people. Cooperation based on mutual respect and recognition of the competences of each participant in the educational process is necessary.
We see how much children and young people today need authentic support, safe references and environments in which they can grow with a sense of security and dignity. At the beginning of the new school year and in the face of the serious challenges confronting education, the Presidency of the Polish Episcopal Conference feels obliged to speak out in a spirit of pastoral concern for the young generations of our homeland.
1. The Church at the service of the integral development of the person
For centuries the Church has accompanied man on his path to maturity, not as an institution claiming a monopoly on education, but as a community that discovers in the Gospel the fullest image of man and strives to make it a reality.
We understand education as attentive accompaniment of the young person in the discovery of the truth about himself, about God and about the world. It is not only a matter of transmitting knowledge or developing skills. It is about forming the whole person so that he may love, live in truth and choose the good.
A particular challenge of our time is the weakening of family, neighbourhood and peer bonds. Young people are growing up increasingly in a world of intense digital communication and, at the same time, experiencing loneliness. They need spaces in which they are listened to, seen and guided towards maturity.
In the face of such serious challenges, the Church cannot remain indifferent. We understand that no institution can replace an attentive father or a wise educator, but we wish to offer our support in the difficult task of educating.
2. Religion classes, a right of pupils and parents
We wish to state clearly that Religion classes are not a privilege of the Church. They are a constitutional right of pupils and parents, derived from the principle of freedom of conscience and religion and from the right of parents to educate their children in accordance with their own convictions.
Religion classes help to form conscience, teach responsibility and build a hierarchy of values. They do not serve only for the personal formation of believers. They allow a better knowledge of the history of Poland and Europe, literature, art, social ethics and many other areas of culture.
They also help to understand oneself better, to find the meaning of life and to deepen the understanding of one’s own faith. They bring to school education something irreplaceable: an answer to the deepest questions about the meaning, value and purpose of human life.
For many pupils, especially in moments of crisis, it is precisely the contents received in Religion classes that become a reference that prevents them from getting lost.
In this context, we observe with concern, born of care for the young generations, the actions of the Ministry of National Education.
The obligation to place Religion classes before or after other school activities, the reduction of teaching to one hour per week, the possibility of grouping classes and the elimination of the Religion grade from the academic average lead to its marginalisation in the Polish school.
For this reason, we request the immediate restoration of the place that corresponds to these classes and the opening of a real dialogue with the representatives of religious communities.
3. The need for axiological formation
We strongly support the citizens’ initiative bill that seeks to guarantee every pupil school classes that form the axiological foundation of his life through the subjects of Religion or Ethics.
The young person needs a space in which to speak about responsibility, the dignity of the person, honesty, solidarity and the meaning of life in common.
Formation in values is not contrary to pluralism; on the contrary, it allows respectful dialogue to be maintained and community to be built despite differences.
For these reasons, pupils should choose between Religion classes and Ethics classes. It is a matter of responsibility for the future of the young generations.
4. Health Education with respect for the family and the rights of parents
From its beginnings, the Church has been concerned with the development of man in all his dimensions. For this reason, we value the need for health education in school and recognise its importance for disease prevention, mental health and responsible social attitudes.
Our concerns, however, refer to the vision of the human person, of marriage and of the family that emerges from the programmatic assumptions and the published textbooks.
For this reason we receive with concern and unease the decision of the Ministry of National Education to establish the compulsory character of the subject “Health Education” from 1 September of this year.
We point out that the problem is not resolved by leaving the module relating to sexuality as optional.
The education of such a sensitive area of human life must respect the right of parents to decide on its form. The State must support the family in education, not assume its fundamental functions.
Sexuality must be presented from the perspective of marital and family relationships, because it is in this context that it serves the authentic good of the person.
We are also concerned about the absence of an unequivocal position according to which marriage is the union of a woman and a man.
We therefore ask parents to constantly monitor the education of their own children in an area of life that is so important and, at the same time, so sensitive.
We also point out that in the elaboration of the programmatic assumptions there was a lack of broad dialogue with the environments responsible for education. The proposals and requests of the Roman Catholic Church were not taken into account.
We consider that such an important educational area requires a broad social consensus, transparency in the programmes and real participation of parents and educational environments.
We request substantive consultations with parents, educational environments and religious communities, as well as the joint elaboration of programmatic contents that respect the convictions of all parents, children and young people.
5. Gratitude to parents, teachers and educators
We wish to address words of special gratitude and cordial encouragement to all parents, teachers and educators who every day face the difficult task of an education based on values.
Your effort is of enormous importance, and every hour dedicated to conversing about what truly matters constitutes a gift of incalculable value deposited in the heart of a young person.
We especially thank you, dear Religion teachers, for your perseverance and dedication in the face of the accumulating difficulties. Nothing can replace your love, your presence and your daily witness.
Dear parents, we ask you: take part in school life, ask about the contents being taught and make use of your constitutional rights.
Your concern for education is indispensable, and the Church is always ready to support you through consultations, the elaboration of family-support programmes, the development of psychological assistance and the creation of spaces for dialogue between the school, parents and religious communities.
To all those committed to the educational task we impart our pastoral blessing for the new school year, asking God for strength, wisdom and perseverance in this beautiful, responsible and demanding service.
May Mary, Mother of all educators, surround you with her maternal protection in the service of the young generations.
† Tadeusz Wojda SAC
Metropolitan Archbishop of Gdansk
President of the Polish Episcopal Conference
† Józef Kupny
Metropolitan Archbishop of Wroclaw
Vice-President of the Polish Episcopal Conference
† Marek Marczak
Secretary General of the Polish Episcopal Conference
Warsaw, 24 August 2026