Marriage and the family issues in the research and writings of Blessed Michał Sopoćko in the light of his scientific activity and legacy

Abstract

Father Michał Sopoćko, the blessed of the Catholic Church described the issues of marriage and the family in the legal and ethical aspect in his doctoral thesis. It was published in 1926 and was called: Rodzina w prawodawstwie na ziemiach polskich [The family in the legislation on Polish soil]. This article presents this publication with the background note about the scientific activity of Father Sopoćko, the scientific disciplines which he worked on (pastoral theology, pedagogy, catechetics and homiletics) as well as the apostolate of Divine mercy (teaching, the cult, publications), which were his life mission. The dissertation presents the reasons why he described the issues of marriage and family: his concern for the Christian model of the family, of the family’s rights based on the natural and on the revealed law in order to take them into account in the codification created in the freed Poland. Further on, the main content of the work consists of the vision of family and marriage, the mutual relationship of the spouses, the relationship between parents and children with regard to the natural law and to the Christian morality presented in the light of the legislation on the Polish soil under occupation. The final part in the conclusion of the article emphasises the indispensability to embed the constituted law on marriage and the family on the natural and the revealed law. This validity has not become out of date and should still be preserved. This statement adds value to the work of Father Sopoćko and makes it worth attention in the light of the contemporarily discussed issues of marriage and the family.