Proposed changes to clergy subsidies
The Left, a junior partner in the ruling coalition, proposed a bill to abolish the Church Fund, which provides state subsidies for clergy health insurance contributions. The fund, established in 1950 to compensate religious communities for property seized by communist authorities, supports all legally recognized religious denominations in Poland, including those that did not lose property at that time. Last year, the state spent 275.7 million zloty on the fund, while the budget for this year allocates 272.6 million zloty. The fund pays for the renovation of religious buildings and religious organizations’ charitable activities. Currently, the fund covers 80% of social security contributions for clergy. Under the proposed bill, churches would pay half of these contributions, while clergy members cover the other half. Anna Maria Zukowska, head of The Left’s parliamentary caucus, told the Polish Press Agency that the party is introducing the same arrangement used for regular workers. This change excludes members of enclosed religious orders and missionaries, whose churches would pay their contributions in full. The National Fund for the Protection of Monuments would cover the costs of maintaining historic churches. Wlodzimierz Czarzasty, the leader of The Left and speaker of the Sejm, said the party wants clergy to be treated equally under the law. "Our patience is running out," he said. This proposal follows a 2024 plan where Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced reforms and appointed a government working group led by Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, although that group’s work stalled. Ahead of the 2023 election, both the Civic Coalition and The Left pledged to abolish the fund, while Poland 2050 proposed replacing state funding with voluntary taxpayer contributions.
Coalition opposition and religious concerns
Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, the PSL leader and deputy prime minister, dismissed the proposal, stating it has "not the slightest chance of support in parliament" and argued that taxpayers should be able to allocate part of their taxes to a religious institution of their choice. The PSL, the second largest coalition partner with 32 of 239 MPs, intends to oppose the bill. Interior minister Marcin Kierwinski, a member of the Civic Coalition, said he supports reform but criticized The Left for submitting the bill without consulting coalition partners. The Polish Episcopal Conference said any solution must comply with the country’s agreement with the Vatican. Bishop Jerzy Samiec, head of the Evangelical-Augsburg Church, noted that churches face significant costs for maintaining properties like care homes. The Catholic Church, Poland’s dominant religious institution, faces a decline in public trust, with only 35% of Poles reporting trust in the institution in 2025. This decline coincided with a series of crises involving revelations of child sexual abuse by members of the clergy and negligence by the hierarchy in dealing with such cases. Surveys show that religious attendance and identification in Poland have also declined in recent years.
