    there are 44 catholic dioceses in poland. these comprise about 10,000 parishes and religious orders. there are 33 million catholics. the primate of the church is wojciech polak, archbishop of gniezno. ==history== ever since poland officially adopted latin christianity in 966, the catholic church has played an important religious, cultural and political role in the country. identifying oneself as catholic distinguished polish culture and nationality from neighboring germany, especially eastern and northern germany, which is mostly lutheran, and the countries to the east which are orthodox. during times of foreign oppression the catholic church was a cultural guard in the fight for independence and national survival. for instance, the polish abbey in czÄstochowa, which successfully resisted a siege in the swedish invasion of poland in the 17th century, became a symbol of national resistance to occupation. the establishment of a communist regime controlled by the soviet union following world war ii allowed the church to continue fulfilling this role, although recent allegations suggest there was some collaboration between polish clergy and the regime. the 1978 election of polish cardinal karol wojtyÅa as pope john paul ii strengthened the ties of identification. john paul's visits to poland became rallying points for both the faithful and galvanized opposition to the soviet regime. his beatification in 2011 and canonization three years later further instilled pride and joy in the polish people. in 2013, pope francis, john paul ii's successor who was made a cardinal by the polish pope, announced that world youth day, the world's largest religious gathering of young people, will be held in krakÃ³w, poland in 2016. in 2013 a succession of child sex abuse scandals within the church, and the poor response by the church, became a matter of widespread public concern. the church resisted demands to pay compensation to victims. ==number of catholics in poland== as of 2005 a majority of poles, approximately 88%, identified themselves as roman catholic, and 58% said they are active practicing catholics, according to a survey by t
Christianity_in_Poland Roman_Catholic_Church_by_country Roman_Catholic_Church_in_Europe Roman_Catholic_Church_in_Poland