Warsaw Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz is open to the idea of legal protection for same-sex couples in Poland. People should be allowed to register partnerships without equating this relationship with marriage, Nycz told the broadcaster "Polsat News" on Wednesday evening.
The Catholic Church would at best make its opinion known, but would probably "not interfere" in the corresponding legislative process in parliament, said the cardinal.
Equality Minister Katarzyna Kotula from the "New Left" party published a draft partnership law a few days ago. This would allow two people of legal age to register their relationship at the registry office, regardless of their gender.
This would put them on an equal footing with married couples in terms of tax and inheritance law and the choice of surname, among other things. However, they would not be able to adopt children together.
In Prime Minister Donald Tusk's centre-left coalition, the bill has met with resistance from the conservative PSL party.
Majority in favour of registered partnerships
According to Nycz, the "temperature of this discussion" in parliament shows "that the problem is not so simple".
Marriage, especially church marriage, must be distinguished from other types of relationships.
However, there should be a "certain tolerance" on the part of the Church for the desire of people to be able to enter into and dissolve partnerships more easily by civil contract, said the Archbishop of Warsaw.
Poland is one of only five EU states that do not allow same-sex marriages or the official registration of gay and lesbian partnerships.
In recent surveys, a majority of the Polish population was in favour of introducing a registered civil partnership for homosexual couples.