THE POSITIONING OF THE POLISH CATHOLIC HI ERARCHY AS PERCEIVED BY THEPOPULATION AND THE STATE DURING THE 1980S

The social power of the Roman Catholic Church in Poland in the 1980s i s usually explained as follows: the Church was the sole institution ca pable of expressing opposition to Communism. The legitimacy of this re presentation as perceived by the population is thus considered as the main cause of the popular support and therefore of the strength the Ch urch had at that lime. This analytical perspective tends, however, to ignore the micro aspects of the question. We begin with two postulates : (1) Polish society in the 1980s was by and large guile secularized i n matters of values and daily behavior; (2) the power of the Church wa s based on massive popular participation We submit as a general hypoth esis that the practice of investing the Catholic rituals with an expre ssion of opposition was almost cost-free. The Church never tried to co ntrol convictions and behaviors. We see this policy as a compromise, f ully considered as such by the clergy, but also as the consequence of a broader compromise with the Communist authorities.