Posted on 08/24/2017 5:20:17 PM PDT by ebb tide
A referendum on "Free Sundays" for all Polish workers is expected next year
Poland’s leading Catholic bishops have spoken out in support of establishing a ban on Sunday commerce. Speaking on Polish Radio, Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki claimed “Free Sundays are what all Catholics, non-Catholics and non-believers need.” The interview came before the upcoming meeting of the Bishops Conference, which is expected to support the proposal.
Of course, the ban could only be instituted by the Polish government. BBC reports that the bishops have taken great care to appeal to the government through secular terms, keeping the religious aspects of “Free Sundays” out of their arguments.
Archbishop of Katowice, Wiktor Skworc appealed to the government to “show some compassion for women in the form of those who have to work in supermarkets on Sundays”, and accused it of showing “contempt” for Solidarity and the bishops by delaying consideration of the ban. He also warned local MPs and senators that he expected them to vote “in line with the views of their voters”
There is strong opposition to the proposal, a poll taken by TVN 24 found that only 35% favored the ban, with 59% against it. The main concern of opponents is that that removing 45 days of commerce a year could negatively impact the economy. The proposed ban would allow shops to open seven Sundays each year.
Piotr Mazurkiewicz, who writes on the economy for the heavyweight Rzeczpospolita daily explains that tourism from Germany and Scandinavia would be especially affected, because Poland is a popular nearby weekend getaway destination.
The vote is to take place in 2018 and since the movement has shown continued growth over the last few months, the “Free Sunday” initiative may well be passed. Labour Minister Elzbieta Rafalska acknowledges this, but suggests that it be introduced “in stages” if passed.
But now, "The main concern of opponents is that that removing 45 days of commerce a year could negatively impact the economy".
N.B. Unlike the bishops of Malta, Rome, Germany, Argentina, Brazil et al, the Polish bishops remain Catholics and refuse to grant Holy Communion to adulterers.
P.S. Chick Filet’s proper observance of the Third Commandment doesn’t seem to be hurting them “economically”.
That’s a great point. I believe Chick-Fil-A has the most valuable fast-food franchise in the U.S. for an average individual location.
When I was a kid we had some serious blue laws.Restaurants were open...drug stores...gas stations...and that’s about it.I think it was great.Church in the morning and the rest of the day just hanging out.
Re chick-fil-a: quite the opposite. They cannot keep up with demand.
Pro football should be played on monday nights?
One of, if not the, best books you can read on the subject:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/767958.Leisure
Hobby Lobby is closed on Sunday as well.
Such rules need to be carefully crafted. On top of the obvious exceptions for hospitals and nursing homes, police and fire, there are some industries that must run 24/7, because a shut down and restart can take days. Not just things like energy production and blast furnaces, but milk production, telecommunications and Internet service.
I wish Chik~fil~A made Pirogi’s.
Good idea in my opinion.
I drove into a west Tx town that refused to sell me bread on a Sunday.
They sold me gasoline... go figure...
Presumably the gasoline was so I could get me to Church, but near as i can recall it had something to do with selling the body of Christ on a Sunday.
I will defer to Colon Kaypernick.
Yes, there need to be exceptions, but a break from regular commerce is a good thing.
They would go nuts if the internet shut down on Sunday.
They have people crack addicted.
I have worked the Defense industry for 32 years and now they allow people to walk around in sensitive areas with Iphones.
Half a century + of Opsec out the window.
I fear the Church is the same.
The Enemy is within the gate.
And they had always been carefully crafted for such examples as you have given.
Even Christ challenged those who would not pull an ox out of a ditch on the Sabbath.
Yes, I had forgotten about them. In my childhood we had to gas up before Sunday because most if the gas stations were closed. Restaurants were open, but we only went out to eat for special occasions.
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