If You Can't Beat 'Em

Father Adam Boniecki, editor of the prestigious journal Tygodnik Powszechny (Universal Weekly) recently lamented that Poles now seemed more interested in shopping than in exploring the spiritual life.

However, in an apparent attempt to work with the new consumer reality, Catholic officials have decided to create a confessional inside a new shopping mall in the city of Katowice.

The lack of consumer distractions during the pre-1989 era helped to keep the Church at the heart of Polish society. However, the recent economic boom has revolutionized peoples lives on many levels. Sunday, normally a day of reflection, is now a popular time to visit shopping malls, which continue to spring up in cities across the country.

With the soaring designs of many new malls and the ecstatic music on loop on the speakers, actual similarities with churches are not wildly obtuse. Nevertheless, whether the mall confessional becomes a common feature in Poland remains to be seen.