Shrines and Pilgrimages in Poland as an Element of the “Geography” of Faith and Piety of the People of God in the Age of Vatican II (c. 1948–1998)

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

There is just one statement that the authors perhaps should reconsider and revise. On page 2, line 96, they write that "the Church was the only source of freedom for the Polish people". Although I understand the importance of the the Church as an institutions, community and what it represents to Polish people, it seems a bit oversimplification and to general statement to claim that all Pols consider the Church a symbol of freedom. I dont think that can work either in contemporary Poland or during socialist period. Besides this, I consider this paper as a very interesting contribution on the importance of the Church and their politics in formation of contemporary Poland. Moreover, the process of "mapping religion" and marking the space is relevant for much broader processes that goes beyond Poland. I suggest to authors, for future research, to read more on other similar examples especially in the Balkans. Perhaps it would provide them with some interesting comparative material and some new  interpretational  ideas.

Author Response

Thank you for the positive assessment of the article by Reviewer 1.
I agree with the remark: „Although I understand the importance of the the Church as an institutions, community and what it represents to Polish people, it seems a bit oversimplification and to general statement to claim that all Pols consider the Church a symbol of freedom. I dont think that can work either in contemporary Poland or during socialist period”.
Therefore, I corrected the sentence "At the time, the Church was the only source of freedom for the Polish people" to "At the time, the Church in Poland was an important space of freedom"

Thank you very much again for this positive assessment of my research and text.

Reviewer 2 Report

I thought this was excellent and very interesting to read. I think the section headings that come with the template (such as "results") should be largely replaced, however. Most of the article is listed under "results" and really needs to be organized into different subheadings based on topic. Right now it is a very long cascade of information without break or guidance to the reader. I think it would be very easy to add subheadings that would clarify the order of the argument and evidence. I also think the lay reader would benefit from a bit more background information about how being part of the Eastern Bloc influenced the government's approach to religion and religious expression and I'd like to know more about the specific role and history of Marian shrines in Poland. Are there ethnographic sources that could be cited to provide more information about what motivated these defiant acts of pilgrimage? It would be interesting to hear from people who undertook those pilgrimages. 

Author Response

Thank you for the positive assessment of the article by Reviewer 2.
As proposed by the Reviewer, in the "Results" part of the work, I introduced subtitles depending on the topic:
2.1. Factors affecting the development of pilgrimages and shrines during the Vatican II era
2.2. The Great Novena before the Millennium of the Baptism of Poland
2.3. The development of Marian shrines
2.4. Pilgrimages in Poland in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s
2.5. The Polish pilgrimage space from the 1989 political transformation
I believe that I have devoted a lot of space in my work to presenting the approach of the communist government in Poland to religion and religious expression.
Thanks again for your comments.

Reviewer 3 Report

The paper presents a strong case study which would be strengthened by greater reference to pilgrimage scholarship and broader context. 

Three main changes are required:

1. Fuller discussion of pilgrimage studies, what are the key theories shaping the analysis and how can this case study improve our understanding of mid-late twentieth century pilgrimage? There is a passing reference to Truner and Turner, but the paper needs to be informed by work form John Eade, Simon Coleman, Marion Bowman, Dee Dyas, as well as geographers, such as Avril Madrell and Veronica dela Dora if the paper is to claim any form of spatial analysis. The overall theoretical contribution of the paper is  unclear.
2. Context: The paper needs to bases its discussion in both a Polish and broader European landscape to understand if the developments being referred to are distinct or part of larger shifts at the time. Figure 1, for example, seems to be drawn from the author's observations but has little theoretical or contextual underpinning. 

3. Vatican II: despite the titular reference Vatican II there seems to be little analytical worth in link the Council and shrines in Poland. If the paper is to discuss pilgrimages in the context of Vatican II, it would need to examine the relationship with key outcomes such as Sacrosanctum Concilium  or Dignitatis humanae. Also, it is unclear where the category 'Vatican II era' came from and the the criteria to define the dates, 1948–1998, why 98?  I would consider removing the Vatican II emphasis altogether. 

Author Response

Thank you for the positive assessment of the article by Reviewer 3

I introduced changes to the work taking into account the comments of Reviewer 3:

1. Fuller discussion of pilgrimage studies, what are the key theories shaping the analysis and how can this case study improve our understanding of mid-late twentieth century pilgrimage? There is a passing reference to Truner and Turner, but the paper needs to be informed by work form John Eade, Simon Coleman, Marion Bowman, Dee Dyas, as well as geographers, such as Avril Madrell and Veronica dela Dora if the paper is to claim any form of spatial analysis. The overall theoretical contribution of the paper is unclear.

Ad. 1. The works indicated by the Reviewer were referred to. The text in the introduction was expanded.

 

2. Context: The paper needs to bases its discussion in both a Polish and broader European landscape to understand if the developments being referred to are distinct or part of larger shifts at the time. Figure 1, for example, seems to be drawn from the author's observations but has little theoretical or contextual underpinning.

Ad. 2. I clearly emphasized this "Polish" specificity on page 3 of the text:

"It should be emphasized that during the Vatican II era the Polish Church struggled with completely different problems than those faced by Churches in Western European countries (Bartnik 1987). In the case of Poland, one of the key activities on which the philosophy and service of the Church were focused was care for the Catholic identity of the Polish nation, which was so heavily restricted and attacked by communist authorities. At the time, the Church in Poland was an important space of freedom. Strzelczyk emphasizes that “the difference of contexts is of immense importance to the understanding of the entire reception of Vatican II in Poland”, because “the main subject of the Council debates, from the theological perspective, was not in the center of interests of the Polish Church ”(Strzelczyk 2008: 47).

3. Vatican II: despite the title reference to Vatican II, it seems that the connection of the Council and the sanctuaries in Poland has little analytical value. If an article was to deal with pilgrimages in the context of the Second Vatican Council, it would have to examine the link to key results such as Sacrosanctum Concilium or Dignitatis humanae. It is also not clear where the category of "Vatican II epoch" came from and what criteria for determining the dates 1948–1998, why 98? I would consider removing the emphasis on Vatican II altogether.

Ad. 3. I accept this remark with humility and great surprise! After all - according to the invitation of the Editor of the Special Issue - the text should be related to the epoch of the Second Vatican Council in the years 1948-1998.

I also underlined in the text: "It is surprising that the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council, also known as the Pastoral Council, made revolutionary changes in various spheres of the life of the Catholic Church, especially in teachings, liturgy and cult, and pastoral service (Półtorak 2006) but failed to focus on pilgrimages which are a complex phenomenon full of meaning ".

I would like to thank the Reviewer for his comments and wish you all the best!