Catholic leader claims Poles could split Church [UK]

[anna30]

To me it does not matter if the Mass is in Polish, English or Latin. But I go to Polish Mass not only because I’m Polish but also because I don’t feel the English community would accept me. If Polish people couldn’t attend the Polish Mass, they wouldn’t go to church at all (not all of them of course). The culture and the way we celebrate the Mass is so different that we just don’t feel comfortable.
Personally I feel excluded from the community I live in and it’s not because of the lack of English.

 

[TheMese]

I live in the UK and am personally not happy that we’ve opened the floodgates and allow any Polish people who so desire to come here. The competition for Catholic school places in London is particularly fierce and now I have to worry about my children not getting secondary school places.

We have free schooling in the UK and I don’t see how the benefits which the Polish immigrants demand on arrival are due to them. They were paid for by the taxpayers of our country (particularly our parents and grandparents contributions) for their people.

Virtually all Polish people come because we are a rich country and theirs is very poor. I have no idea why such a Catholic nation has failed so badly but I see no advantage for Poland for its workforce to abandon their own economy and homeland.

If you come to my country learn English. Preferably just stay in your own country. You are not asylum seekers, you’re just economic migrants. We are overpopulated, we have a housing crisis, we have long hospital waiting lists. We have a strained job market, school places are scarce already. We are not moving in hordes to your country.

Honestly, I’m not racist, I’m white and I’m Catholic but God put you in Poland. Why do you have to leave?

Acts 17:26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.

Now Romania and Bulgaria have become full members of the EU and their citizens acquire the right of free and unrestricted access to Britain. Where will it end?

 

[anna30]

I am here legally, I work and pay taxes, don’t often go to the doctor’s as usually pay for treatment in Poland. I rent a house. What’s the problem with housing? There are lots of houses you can buy or rent. And my son is the only foreign child in his school (not a catholic school). And the same happened in Poland. British, American and Australian teachers took our jobs as English teachers. (English in Poland is as much important as Polish and every child learns English).
And the company I work for are still looking for people and let us work overtime because nobody wants to work there (it’s not a bad paid job). There is approx 400 employees and only 11 of us are Polish.
I realise it is a problem but why are lots of people from Eastern Europe coming to Poland? Who decided about it? Not ordinary people.

 

[LDNCatholic]

To me it does not matter if the Mass is in Polish, English or Latin. But I go to Polish Mass not only because I’m Polish but also because I don’t feel the English community would accept me. If Polish people couldn’t attend the Polish Mass, they wouldn’t go to church at all (not all of them of course). The culture and the way we celebrate the Mass is so different that we just don’t feel comfortable.
Personally I feel excluded from the community I live in and it’s not because of the lack of English.

Anna hello! What part of England are you in? Is your parish very English? My parish is mixed, not too many English people at all. I can understand you feeling as though you would not be welcome but in most parishes that is certainly not the case.

Our parish has a Mass in Polish for the new arrivals to the UK but usually after they begin to learn English they attend the English language Masses alongside all of us. During Easter we have also introduced some Polish traditions (alongside others from various parts of the world) to the celebrations which are wonderful, everybody takes part and it feels like one family.

God Bless

Peter

 

[robin_hood]

I am British and one reason why the Polish people may prefer Mass in Polish is the lack of reverence in a lot of English Catholic parishes.Remember it was the Polish Pope John paul the Great who inspired the document " Redemptionis Sacramentum", on correct liturgical procedure which is widely ignored in England as is most liturgical documents.
I attend the latin mass when I can not to segragate myself but to attend a Mass with reverence.

 

[JW10631]

I live in the UK and am personally not happy that we’ve opened the floodgates and allow any Polish people who so desire to come here. The competition for Catholic school places in London is particularly fierce and now I have to worry about my children not getting secondary school places.

We have free schooling in the UK and I don’t see how the benefits which the Polish immigrants demand on arrival are due to them. They were paid for by the taxpayers of our country (particularly our parents and grandparents contributions) for their people.

Virtually all Polish people come because we are a rich country and theirs is very poor. I have no idea why such a Catholic nation has failed so badly but I see no advantage for Poland for its workforce to abandon their own economy and homeland.

If you come to my country learn English. Preferably just stay in your own country. You are not asylum seekers, you’re just economic migrants. We are overpopulated, we have a housing crisis, we have long hospital waiting lists. We have a strained job market, school places are scarce already. We are not moving in hordes to your country.

Honestly, I’m not racist, I’m white and I’m Catholic but God put you in Poland. Why do you have to leave?

Acts 17:26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.

Now Romania and Bulgaria have become full members of the EU and their citizens acquire the right of free and unrestricted access to Britain. Where will it end?

Try blaming your politicians instead of the Polish people. Poland hasn’t failed as a state. It was partitioned for over 120 years when it did not legally exist - not that the United Kingdom cared much - and Winston Churchill and Roosevelt didn’t do much of anything to help the Poles left behind when the USSR overran the place. However, the UK was only too happy to accept the Polish who fought in the Battle of Britain and the Polish help in cracking the Enigma code.

All of the former Communist states have struggled in building their economies.

Maybe you prefer the Islamic immigration?

I wish the USA would change its laws and let the Poles come here. We let everybody else in.

 

[MelanieAnne]

I find this thread a bit of a muddle.

I live in the US (southern California) and my parish is a large one, serving nearly 5000 families. We have 5 priests (a Pastor, 2 others, 1 “retired in residence” and 1 visiting “snowbird” from Canada who is here 6 months during the Winter/Spring.) Counting those that serve in the school, we also have 5 sisters.

One of our Priests is Vietnamese and speaks both English and Vietnamese. Our Pastor speaks Spanish and will sometimes give the Homily on Holy Days in both Spanish and English. I am sure that the two older priests are fluent in Latin and I would bet that the Canadian snowbird is also fluent in French but I haven’t asked him. We have Masses in English, Spanish and Vietnamese. We have “regular” music masses, “contemporary” masses and “life teen” masses.

And yet we are all one parish. And I daresay anyone from any smaller group within the parish would tell you that.

I find the apparent desire for division and separatism as evidenced by this thread rather troublesome. Don’t we all believe in “one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church?” Where’s the evidence of that?