l) The U.S. Department of State publication, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988, indicates that Polish citizens enjoy considerable freedom to profess their religious beliefs. [U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988, (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989), p. 1154.] Poland is predominantly Catholic and while the Church and State have antithetical world views, the relationship between the two institutions is described by the DOS report as "businesslike". [Ibid.] The report further claims that there is no government-sponsored discrimination against minority religions. [Ibid.] The 1988 edition of the Yearbook on International Communist Affairs illustrates a slightly less amicable relationship between the Catholic Church and the Polish authorities, yet this source also points out the Church's growing political force in Poland. [Richard F. Staar, ed., Yearbook on International Communist Affairs 1988, (Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, 1988), pp. 290-291.] For recent developments, please see the attached article from Radio Free Europe Research, dated 19 May 1989, which details the status and activities of the Roman Catholic Church since the Round-table talks. As an update to this overview of the Church's activities, the attached newspaper clippings indicate that the Polish parliament passed a law on 17 May 1989 giving the Roman Catholic Church in Poland legal statusthe first such reconciliation in Eastern Europe. ["Poland gives church legal status", The Globe and Mail, 18 May 1989, p. A5; "D'une semanine à l'autre: Pologne", le Monde, 24 mai 1989.]

2) The DOS report states that Party members are discouraged from overt religious practice. [1988 DOS report, p. 1154.]

3) A Polish situation report in Radio Free Europe Research details the difficulties facing Poland with regard to economic restructuring. One of the most prominent of these is the system of nomenklatura. [Roman Stefanowski, "Economic Difficulties Continue", Radio Free Europe Research, 28 April 1989, p. 22.] This is described as a procedure which allows the Polish authorities to recommend and approve appointments throughout the economic and institutional hierarchies. [Ibid.]

"D'une semaine à l'autre: Pologne", le Monde, 24 mai 1989.

"Poland gives church legal status", The Globe and Mail, 18 May 1989. A5.

Staar, Richard F. ed. Yearbook on International Communist Affairs 1988. Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, 1988. 290-291.

Stefanowski, Roman. "Economic Difficulties Continue", Radio Free Europe Research, 28 April 1989. 21-23.

Swidlicka, Anna. "The Catholic Church After the Round-Table Talks", Radio Free Europe Research, 19 May 1989. 9-15.

U.S. Department of State. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989. 1154.