On the publicism of Józef Putek : a dispute with the Catholic Church

The issues connected with the Catholic Church are a central part of the political writings of Józef Putek (1892-1974), a Polish deputy to the Parliament, journalist, and social and self-government activist. In reborn Poland (after 1918), he was a decided opponent of the privileged position of the Catholic Church, which he viewed as one of the backward oppressors of the peasants. He criticised the high (in his opinion) charges demanded by the clergy for church services, as well as church indulgencies. He demanded lay participation in the governance of the church matters, including of its property. Putek’s anticlerical activity resulted in the Archbishop of Kraków, Adam Sapieha, issuing an interdict on him in 1928.