Polish left-wing party proposes scrapping state-funded social insurance for clergy

A Polish left-wing party that is part of the governing coalition has proposed ending state-funded social insurance for clergy, but a coalition partner says the bill will not pass parliament.

Left MP Anna Maria Żukowska speaks at a press conference in parliament, where her party on Thursday announced a bill to end state-funded social insurance for clergy.

Photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka

The Left party, a junior partner in Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government, announced the draft legislation on Thursday.

The bill would abolish the Church Fund, a state mechanism created in 1950 during the communist era to compensate religious groups for confiscated property.

Today about 95 percent of the fund’s spending goes towards social insurance contributions for priests and other clergy.

The government has set aside PLN 272.5 million (EUR 62 million) for the fund in the 2026 budget.

Under the Left's proposal, religious organisations would be required to finance the contributions themselves.

The costs would be split equally between the institutions and individual clergy, similar to standard employment arrangements.

For missionaries working abroad and members of cloistered religious orders, the religious organisation would cover the full cost.

The proposal would also transfer responsibility for maintaining and preserving historic religious buildings to the state's Monument Protection Fund.

📣 Lewica składa ustawę likwidującą Fundusz Kościelny. Czas na realizację umowy koalicyjnej w zakresie świeckiego państwa‼️ Co zakłada nasz projekt? ⬇️ ✅ Składki na duchownych przestają być w 80 procentach finansowane z budżetu państwa jak dotychczas. 50% składek pokrywać będzie kościół, a 50% sami duchowni (w niektórych przypadkach jak np. misjonarzy składka będzie w pełni finansowana przez kościół). ✅ Wydatki na utrzymanie i odbudowę zabytków kościelnych pozostaną nienaruszone, przejmie je Fundusz Ochrony Zabytków. ✅ Wydatki na wykonywanie działalności charytatywno-opiekuńczej przejmie Fundusz Wspierania Organizacji Pożytku Publicznego. 🔴 Fundusz Kościelny został powołany w 1950 jako forma rekompensaty za przejęte przez państwo nieruchomości ziemskie. Grunty zostały Kościołowi katolickiemu zwrócone i to z nawiązką. Nie ma dziś już formalnej podstawy do istnienia tego Funduszu. Czas skończyć z feudalnymi przywilejami kleru! 💪

— Lewica (@__Lewica) October 29, 2026

'Unfair system'

Left MP Anna Maria Żukowska said continued state funding was "pointless and unfair," arguing that a post-communist property commission had already "awarded the Catholic Church more property than it held before World War II."

She noted that all legally recognised religious groups currently benefit from the Church Fund, including those that did not exist in Poland in 1950.

Top Left lawmaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty, who serves as Speaker of the lower house of parliament, said the party was not "against believers" but that its patience had run out.

He added that the Left would not seek to fast-track the bill.

Alternative tax model

However, Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, leader of the Polish People’s Party (PSL), another junior coalition partner, said the bill would not pass parliament.

Speaking in the southern city of Kraków, Kosiniak-Kamysz called the Church Fund "the cheapest way" to compensate religious organisations for communist-era seizures and vowed to protect smaller denominations, such as the Orthodox and Evangelical churches.

The PSL instead favours letting Poles decide whether to direct part of their taxes to faith groups, a system Kosiniak-Kamysz said exists in many European countries.

The Left said it put forward its proposal after becoming frustrated with delays in the government's efforts to reform the fund.

Tusk established an inter-ministerial task force led by Kosiniak-Kamysz in early 2024 to reform the fund, but its work has since stalled without producing a unified coalition plan, state news agency PAP reported.

(ał/gs)

Source: PAP, IAR