Women's issue in a Catholic country: trajectories of gender policy in Ireland and Poland in the late 20th and early 21st centuries (on the example of the abortion question)

The article is devoted to the role of the Catholic Church in addressing issues related to the women's agenda in Ireland and Poland which are known for the significant influence of Catholicism on the daily lives of their citizens. Using the example of the policy on pregnancy termination, different trajectories of gender policy in the two countries and the place of the Catholic Church in implementing them are considered. Women's agenda is analyzed in the light of the interaction of gender, nationalism and Catholicism. The authors analyze the role of the Catholic Church and religion in the process of (re) actualizing national identity and demonstrate how the Church influenced the resolution of social issues, including those related to family, sexuality and gender, in the spirit of Catholic social teachings. The issue of abortion is analyzed in the article on the example of legislation adopted due to the initiative of Catholic priests and activists, media materials and positions of political leaders. The factors that determine the liberalization of abortion in Ireland and the preservation of hard abortion legislation in Poland are identified. The authors conclude that the gender policy trajectories are similar in the countries, however, there is a chronological discrepancy between the trajectories: in Ireland, the movement towards secularization was outlined in the late 20th century, whereas Poland is only now taking the first steps towards it, but the Polish society remains divided on the issue of abortion, as well as on the wider problem of the participation of the Church in social issues.