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Poland Research Paper

Decent Essays

Roman Catholicism, Communism:
Who runs Poland?
By
Ryan Witkowski
ENG 1123 00 Composition and Rhetoric
Dr. Sheba Kulothungan
February 21, 2005

Outline
Thesis:

I. Poland and the church before communism 1. Church's political power
a. Had many people specifically placed in the government
b. Church controlled 80% of offices to help its influence in politics
2. Had possession of 450,000 acres in Poland
a. If you wanted land you must buy it from the church directly
b. The church then became more powerful than Govt.
II. Poland and the church during communism 3. The church fighting the war a. The church did not want to loose power b. Clergymen made up most of the soldiers c. 1/3 of clergymen in Poland died …show more content…

The change would be devastating for the church. The surprising thing was that the soviets allowed the church to still be in existence. The church was restricted though, and for the first time ever, they reported to the government. With the communistic system in place, the church had to follow new rules. No longer were they able to print their own pamphlets, or express any opinion in print. The freedom of press was no longer a right or a privilege. It just stops existing unless the government wrote it. Only propaganda was produced. All church printing presses were destroyed in an effort to weaken them more. The communist had control of Poland and many other areas of Asia and Europe. Just like the Roman Catholic Church they believed they would never be out powered. The communists could not see themselves rotting from the inside out.

The communist system was a flop. The economy collapsed and the soviets went into a severe depression. People in Russia were starving to death. The military spending was priority and there was no oil left for the people to burn. As a result, people were freezing to death in the harsh winter. The people revolted in Russia and communism collapsed. Poland kept communism until the 1990's ( ) until the government was pressured by the Catholic Church to leave communism and return to the republic government. The church was free again but the government did not allow them to become as powerful

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