In the summer of 2021 deliberate actions by the Belarusian state authorities led to a huge increase of people irregularly crossing the border from Belarus to Poland. Instead of addressing this humanitarian crisis, the Polish government responded with actions that were in violation of its international obligations and domestic law. Among these measures was carrying out “pushbacks” and grounding them in Polish domestic law. “Pushbacks” are the practice of returning people to the border without assessing their individual situation. The formalization of those practices in 2021 was done within two legal frameworks; one interim and one permanent. They continue to function in parallel while containing different provisions. This article assesses the two frameworks’ compatibility with domestic and international law and concludes that they both violate domestic and international rules. In the context of EU law, the article demonstrates the incompatibility of the two frameworks with the so-called Asylum Procedures Directive and Return Directive. The article further argues that the pushbacks violate the European Convention of Human Rights and would not fall within the exceptions to the prohibition of collective expulsions.

The anthropology of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI is strictly theological. Its basis is Christocentric theocentrism. The whole approach is embedded in ecclesiology. The question of who a man is and how to be a man must be directed to God. His answer, which is heard in the Church, is Jesus Christ. The Body of Christ is the space of the communion between God and man. Thus, Christ is God’s tool for the transformation of human existence – its liberation and fulfillment. Man is not an independent being. He comes from God. He exists because he is loved. Being created in God’s image determines the relational - dialogical - nature of his being. A scratch on God’s work is made by sin which undermines the truth about creation. Asking about who he is, man should turn his eyes to God’s perfect image, Jesus who is both God and man. The categories of sonship, childhood and pro-existence are characteristic here. All this is available by entering into the existence of the Son of God, which is done through baptism in the Church. There, man can realize his relational existence. The liturgy, however, provides us with the access to our eschatological destiny.