Poland’s bishops have defended the constitutional meaning of marriage, saying upholding it is not “acting against anyone or taking away someone’s dignity”, as Polish cities began registering gay couples following an EU court ruling.
“Respect for each person does not mean abandoning the truth about marriage, which the Church has preached from the beginning,” the Polish Bishops’ Conference Family Council (KEP) said in a statement signed by its president, Archbishop Wisław Smigiel, on May 22.
Warsaw and Wroclaw have started registering same-sex “marriage” certificates in Poland’s civil registry after Prime Minister Donald Tusk pledged to implement a November 2025 ruling by the EU Court of Justice that requires member states to recognize such unions contracted elsewhere in the bloc.
In his response, the bishops recall that Article 18 of the Polish Constitution states that “Marriage, being the union of one man and one woman, as well as the family, motherhood and fatherhood, shall be placed under the protection and care of the Republic of Poland.”
This is not a formality, the bishops say, warning that “a broad interpretation of the law could undermine the constitutional understanding of marriage.” He argues that “such fundamental issues should not be resolved through interpretations that give rise to serious social and constitutional concerns,” instead pointing to “the reality deeply rooted in the Polish legal system, cultural tradition, and Christian understanding of marriage and family, which have co-shaped the European understanding of humanity for centuries.”
The bishops stressed that the debate on marriage “must be conducted with responsibility, peace and genuine concern for the common good.”
Meanwhile, Slovak lawmaker Michal Szabo “married” his male partner in Hainburg, Austria, just across the Slovak border, where gay marriage is legal. He wants Slovakia to recognize marriage, but the country’s constitution since 2014 has defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and a September 2025 amendment recognizes only two genders, male and female.
Szabo knows Slovakia cannot register the union and will eventually sue the country over it, former minister Milan Krzaniak warned. Progressives “do not want tolerance” but want others to “accept their view of the world”, the former minister claimed.
In April, following elections in Hungary, the EU’s top court ruled that the country’s 2021 law limiting LGBT and gender-related issues to minors, passed under outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, violates the EU’s founding values.
