Catholic World News News Feature

Poland Considers Ban On Sunday Shopping March 12, 1999

WARSAW (CWNews.com) - Polish lawmakers proposed a draft bill on Thursday that would require stores to remain closed on Sunday in order to protect people forced to work on Sunday, a day of rest for Christians.

The bill, sponsored by 21 deputies, has the support of the Polish bishop's conference, citing Pope John Paul II's recent remarks that Poles are too often converging on so-called hypermarkets on Sundays when they should instead be attending Mass and spending time in spiritual pursuits. More than 90 percent of Poles are Catholic.

Jerzy Gwizdz, one of the authors of the draft, acknowledged that respect for Sunday as a Christian holiday was one of the reasons behind the proposal. But the measure also aims at "protecting a big number of people who are forced to work on Sundays," Gwizdz told the state Radio Three.