Concordat of 1925

"[3] The negotiations started in 1921, and the Polish side (Minister of Religion and Education, Maciej Rataj, lawyer Władysław Abraham and bishop Adolf Szelążek) drafted a proposal by 1923.

[4] The concordat was signed on 10 February by Pietro Gasparri, Cardinal Secretary of State for the Holy See and Stanisław Grabski and Wladyslaw Skrzyński for Poland.

[6] Under the concordat, the Church enjoyed full protection of the State and prayed for the leaders of Poland during Sunday mass and on 3 May.

[8] The concordat extended to the Latin Church in five ecclesiastical provinces: Gniezno and Poznań, Warsaw, Wilno, Lwów and Kraków.

But Polish bishops felt forced to take measures against early violations, in the area of marriage legislation and property rights.

[17] During World War II, the Holy See had appointed German and Slovak priests to Polish parishes, violating the concordat.

[18] On 12 September 1945, the communist-dominated Polish Provisional Government issued declaration that concordat is no longer valid, citing the violations by the Church.

[nb 1] Not only Poland but also the other Eastern European countries under Soviet control cancelled their concordats with the Holy See after 1945, which can be seen as a part of the Persecutions against the Catholic Church during the pontificate of Pope Pius XII.