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The relationship between the Polish church and Communist regime began to shift in the early-1970s. The Church began to take a more aggressibe appraoch, focusing on the human rights. At the time, the Church was still the only organization standing up to the Communists. Solidarity was more than a decade away. Edward Gierek became the new Communist head of state. He took a more moderate approach to the Church. He began to moderate attacks on the Church. He even established a working relationship with Archbishop Stefan Wyszynski> no only authorized the building of new Churches, but also resumed instruction in seminaries for new priests. Gierek became the first Polish communist leader to go to the Vatican and meet the pope (Paul VI) (October 1977). This did not mean that the Communists ended it campaign against the Church. The Secret Police as was common in other Communist countries
attmpted to recruit members of the clergy. Here the poliw had various ways og gaining the cooperation of clerics. They were found to use blackmail, psychological manipulation and a various rewards, including medicines or medical treatment for for critically ill family members. This did not prove a one-way street. Officials in the security service and government secretly provided information to the Church. Such a flow od informatin was rare within the Soviet Empire. There was a struggle for control of the children. Polish children with strong religious beliefs Catholic youth were forced to join the Communist Young Pioneers. At first it may seem that the Polish United Workers' Party (UWP) held all the cards, controlling the mechanisms of force. No only were most Poles Catholic, but more than half of the UWP is belivd to have been Catholic. [Will] Many worshiped openly.
Itis in this environmnt that Polish children, including UMP families, continue to do First Communions. A Polish source describes a First Communion about 1970. "I remember my first communion in May 1970. I was in a second grade like my daughter, now. Almost my entire school class was present, since almost all Poles were the members of Roman Catholic Church. Our outfits were more elaborate as compared to these of my aunts 30-40 years earlier. The girls wore long white dresses, some had veils, fixed hair, white shoes and many extra accessories not available before the war. Girls carried lilies in their hands, while boys carried candles. Even the boys' outfits were quite expensive, since they were dressed in suits, commonly short pants suits. We see white suits or dark suits, often with white knee socks." Another Polish reader writes, "Boys First Communion outfits changed kn the 1970s. By the end of the decade, some 90 percent of boys doing First Communioin were weaaring long pants suits."
Will, James E. "Church and State in the Struggle for Human Rights in Poland," Journal of Law and Religion, Vol. 2, No. 1 (1984), pp. 153-176
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