Studia Pastoralne
Rocznik Wydziału Teologicznego UŚ

UNEMPLOYMENT IN CONTEMPORARY POLAND AND ITS IMPACT ON A SPOUSAL AND FAMILY LIFE. THEOLOGICAL AND PASTORAL ANALYSIS
Summary
For a pastoral theology a document of the Second Vatican Council Gaudium et spes is of a special importance. The constitution says that the Church is obliged to read the signs of time and interpret them in the light of the Gospel (see: No. 4). A painful sign of time today is the problem of unemployment which is at stake on most countries of the world. In Poland it became clearly visible after 1989 when political changes were introduced.
The article is divided into two parts. The first includes an analyses of the phenomenon of unemployment in Poland after 1989. A vital thesis presented in the paper is that a transition from a controlled economy of the communist times to a free-market economy, necessary in a country which regained freedom and democracy, triggered a „revolution” on the labour market and its negative effect was an abrupt increase in unemployment – up to 20% as the national average and over 40% in some regions of Poland. Level, impact and negative effects of unemployment depend on many factors, especially on age, sex, place of residence, level of education. Polish unemployment concerns most of all the young (18–34 years) and causes a mass economic emigration.
The second part of the article includes a reflection on the effect of unemployment on spousal and family life on the basis of statistical data and sociological research. Unemployment has many negative effects not only on an unemployed person but also in relation to members of his family, especially children. It concerns physical and mental health, spousal bond, family relations. The problem makes upbringing and educating children more difficult. Negative effects of unemployment require most of all a reaction from the side of the state: fighting the said effects, creation of new job posts, social help in difficult cases. Also the Church cannot remain passive in the face of the problem. Not only does the Church present its social doctrine, but most of all offers various forms of help to the unemployed and their families.