Szymon Hołownia: Let's introduce a municipal price list for religious cemeteries

Hołownia recalled that Poland 2050 presented this idea four years ago.

– There was an idea to return to something that we postulated – price lists at cemeteries. This is something that we all agree on in the coalition – for the municipal price list established by the local government to be valid everywhere where the only cemetery is a religious cemetery. So that it would not matter whether a believer or a non-believer could be buried with dignity – not for an unknown rate. Here we have full agreement among ourselves: let's do it – he appealed. – Let's implement it now as a regulation or as an act, immediately. Let's start somewhere this journey of separating the Church from the state, peacefully, with respect, without religious war, but consistently conducted – he said. Hołownia was also asked whether he was not afraid of a “war with the Church” in connection with the ongoing dispute between the Polish Episcopal Conference and the Ministry of National Education over the regulation of July 26 this year on the organization of religious education classes in schools.

According to the regulations that are to come into force on September 1, 2024, the school principal will be able to combine children from departments or classes in which seven or more students have registered for religious education into a group with people from departments or classes in which fewer than seven children have registered for religious education. At the same time, the regulation introduces the principle that primary school students can be combined into a group including students from grades I–III or grades IV–VI or grades VII and VIII. However, according to Hołownia, the voice of teachers and catechists should be listened to and whether combining children of different ages in religion classes makes sense. – (Combining classes – ed.) fourth with eighth? This is a bit of a problem, because these are completely different levels of development. I understand fourth with fifth (…). Propaedeutics, the way of presenting this content, however, changes – he assessed.

He noted that the point was to talk about whether such a broad combination of groups was necessary. Asked if he wanted to change the regulation that is to come into force in a few days, he assured that he did not want to change anything, only talk about what to do to advance the process of separating the Church from the state. According to Hołownia, the government “is not afraid of bishops”. – There will be a dispute, there will be a conversation, very good; let's find a good solution – he appealed.