Citing papal teaching, Poland bans Communist Party over totalitarian ideology

Bryan Lawrence Gonsalves, Catholic News Agency

Thursday, December 11, 2025

Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal has unanimously ruled that the Communist Party of Poland, founded in 2002, is incompatible with the nation’s 1997 constitution, citing papal encyclicals condemning communism. The court said the party’s program embraces ideological principles and methods associated with totalitarian communist regimes, which the Polish Constitution explicitly prohibits. “There is no place in the Polish legal system for a party that glorifies criminals and communist regimes responsible for the deaths of millions of human beings, including our compatriots,” said Judge Krystyna Pawłowicz.