A reader (a practising Catholic) parked their car by the bank on the side facing the basilica and found a warning behind the windscreen wiper, bearing a stamp, a signature, and the coats of arms of the city and the Marian Basilica. Someone had handwritten on the warning that the reader’s parked car had been photographed. If the reader dared to park there again, they were warned that the police would be called. Let us recall that failure to comply with the B-1 sign may result in a fine of up to PLN 500 and 5 penalty points.
The B-1 sign placed at the entrance to the basilica grounds does, however, contain an exception: the sign does not apply to the landowner. Therefore, if the landowner is the Catholic Church, and the Church is made up of the faithful, it would logically follow that every Catholic has the right to park by the basilica under this exception. So, could the police, if called, issue a fine to a Catholic for parking on the basilica grounds, or should they acknowledge that person’s membership in the community and treat them as a fully entitled landowner?
The Catholic Church, the largest Christian religious community, proclaiming principles of faith and religious life defined as Catholicism, identifying in its faith and name with the universal Church (Greek: katholikos, ‘universal’) and recognising the authority of the pope, the Bishop of Rome, in matters of doctrine and ecclesiastical organisation.
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