Klub Inteligencji Katolickiej (KIK; English:Club of Catholic Intelligentsia) is a Polish organization groupingCatholic intellectuals. KIK is organized into a series of local chapters (clubs).
KIK was founded afterGomułka's Thaw in communist Poland in 1956, evolving into a mild Catholic-center opposition group in communist Poland. Its purpose was to stimulate independent thought and bring Catholics within Poland information about Catholic philosophy from countries outside theSocialist Bloc. Initially, only four clubs were authorized by the government:Kraków,Poznań,Warsaw, andWrocław. They distributed information to Catholics throughout Poland via publications inTygodnik Powszechny (The Universal Weekly) and the monthlyZnak (The Sign).[1]
In the early 1980s, the Krakow branch began working with theSolidarity movement and created a network smaller clubs throughout the country. Between 1981 and 1983, whenmartial law in Poland was imposed, the KIK participated in underground activities to support Solidarity activists.[1] Their overriding goals in the 1980s were to try to improve church-state relationships, end government censorship and promote economic reforms. They urged the government to adopt a stance of beingneutral toward Catholics instead ofanti-religious. To that end, by the mid-1980s, leaders in the KIK began meeting with government officials.[2] In 1989, the KIK founded aCivic Committee (Komitet Obywatelski) which worked to select the leadership of independent Poland.[1]
The branches of the club continue to hold lectures and meetings on philosophical, religious, and social matters and disseminate information onVatican II and the teachings ofPope John Paul II.[1]
| International | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
