First Things RSS Feed - Filip Mazurczak https://www.firstthings.com/author/filip-mazurczak en-us Copyright 2025 First Things. All Rights Reserved. ft@firstthings.com (The Editors) ft@firstthings.com (The Editors) Mon, 20 Jan 2025 16:54:45 -0500 https://d2201k5v4hmrsv.cloudfront.net/img/favicon-196.png First Things RSS Feed Image https://www.firstthings.com/rss/author/filip-mazurczak 60 The Ulma Family and Living the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Wartime https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2024/01/the-ulma-family-and-living-the-parable-of-the-good-samaritan-in-wartime https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2024/01/the-ulma-family-and-living-the-parable-of-the-good-samaritan-in-wartime Mon, 22 Jan 2024 06:00:00 -0500 In 1944, in Markowa, Poland, a German firing squad executed Józef and Wiktoria Ulma, their six children and unborn child, and the two Jewish families they had been sheltering. Beatified as martyrs by the Catholic Church in September last year, the Ulmas are relevant exemplars of how to maintain one’s humanity and decency amidst the demoralization of war, which, in 2024, continues to rage in the Holy Land, Ukraine, and Nagorno-Karabakh.

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]]> Poland's Moment https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2023/05/polands-moment https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2023/05/polands-moment Tue, 30 May 2023 11:15:00 -0400 In 2019, the late Cardinal George Pell was sentenced to prison for allegations of sexual abuse—allegations that were later unanimously quashed by Australia’s High Court. While the fourteen months Pell spent in prison were a via crucis for Pell and for Australian Catholics, they also inspired and revitalized the local Church. A similar situation recently unfolded in Poland. The media attempted to blacken the names of two Poles who were giants of twentieth-century Catholicism, Cardinal Adam Sapieha and Pope St. John Paul II. The slander has had an unintended effect: It has led to an unprecedented mobilization of Polish Catholics in defense of the truth.

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]]> A Pro-Life Victory in Poland https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2021/02/a-pro-life-victory-in-poland https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2021/02/a-pro-life-victory-in-poland Fri, 05 Feb 2021 06:00:00 -0500 Last week, Poland took a step forward in defense of human life. The country’s constitutional court had ruled on October 22 that abortion in the case of fetal abnormalities is unconstitutional, and last Wednesday, this verdict went into effect when the court's reasoning was published in Poland's Journal of Laws. 

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]]> Diversity At the Oscars https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2020/10/diversity-at-the-oscars https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2020/10/diversity-at-the-oscars Mon, 05 Oct 2020 09:50:00 -0400 After controversies about the lack of representation of racial minorities at the Oscars, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has decided to implement strict rules regarding what films are eligible for an award. Beginning with the 2024 Academy Awards, in order to be nominated for an Oscar, a film will have to have a prescribed number of women, racial minorities, LGBT people, or people with disabilities in two of four categories: “Onscreen Representation, Themes, and Narratives”; “Creative Leadership and Project Team”; “Industry Access and Opportunities”; and “Audience Development” (for a detailed breakdown, click here ). Not only will this threaten artistic freedom, it will also likely discourage directors from making films on overlooked but important historical topics, like the Armenian Genocide and communist crimes.

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]]> The Pandemic and Religious Revival https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2020/04/the-pandemic-and-religious-revival https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2020/04/the-pandemic-and-religious-revival Mon, 20 Apr 2020 06:00:00 -0400 Once COVID-19 is under control and we return to normalcy, many dissertations in sociology will analyze the pandemic’s effect on religious belief and practice. Both history and recent events give us reason to hope that many will turn to God in this time of duress. However, such a trend could be short-lived. And it is possible that the pandemic, rather than leading to uniform religious revival, will increase the piety of some but weaken that of others.

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]]> Poland Polarized https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/10/poland-polarized https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/10/poland-polarized Fri, 18 Oct 2019 10:45:00 -0400 In the recent Polish election, the conservative Law and Justice party (PiS) received 43.59 percent of the vote, giving it a parliamentary majority. In total, socially conservative parties amassed nearly 60 percent of the vote. This win suggests that Polish society remains largely traditional and continues to reject the neoliberal economic policies of previous governments. However, it is as painfully polarized as ever.

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]]> The Polish Heroes of World War II https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/08/the-polish-heroes-of-world-war-ii https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/08/the-polish-heroes-of-world-war-ii Thu, 29 Aug 2019 10:45:00 -0400 Sunday marks the eightieth anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. On September 1, 1939, Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany and, sixteen days later, by the Soviet Union. France and Britain declared war on Germany, but gave no real aid to their Polish ally. While some Poles collaborated with the Nazis—collaboration occurred in every occupied territory—Poland’s wartime legacy is overwhelmingly one of heroic resistance and bloody martyrdom. A key objective of Poland’s current conservative government, in power since 2015, has been to inform the world of this legacy. Although this has led to some wrongheaded historical policies in recent years, the objective itself is crucial: Other nations must learn of the Poles’ role in resisting Nazism.

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]]> Poland’s Christian Migrants https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2018/07/polands-christian-migrants https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2018/07/polands-christian-migrants Fri, 20 Jul 2018 06:00:00 -0400 Across the West, an electoral backlash against large-scale immigration has contributed to the successes of populist movements and politicians: Brexit in Britain, Donald Trump in the United States, Viktor Orbán in Hungary, and Matteo Salvini in Italy. The government of Poland, which since 2015 has been led by the conservative Law and Justice Party, is often viewed as part of this transatlantic anti-immigrant trend. But this perception is simplistic. Poland’s government, along with much of Polish society, is in fact pro-immigration. What is true is that Poland eschews the policies of Western European multiculturalism—by encouraging immigration selectively, from countries with similar cultural values.

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]]> Dachau Golgotha https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2017/07/dachau-golgotha https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2017/07/dachau-golgotha Thu, 06 Jul 2017 06:00:00 -0400 The Priest Barracks: Dachau 1938–1945
by guillaume zeller
ignatius press, 280 pages, $16.95

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]]> Solidarity and Dynamism https://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2016/11/solidarity-and-dynamism https://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2016/11/solidarity-and-dynamism Mon, 28 Nov 2016 11:25:00 -0500 White Eagle, Black Madonna: One Thousand Years of the Polish Catholic Tradition
by robert e. alvis
fordham university press , 368 pages, $35.00

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