Left-leaning parliamentarians have for some time now been engaging in fighting the Catholic Church. They do not mind other faiths, it’s the Catholic Church they object to. Taking the lead in this is Joanna Schering-Wielgus MP, backed by the former leader of the Modern Party Ryszard Petru and the left-wing ally of the main opposition party, the Civic Platform, Barbara Nowacka. Their aim is to build their political capital on anti-clericalism.
These politicians have either forgotten or simply do not know that it is thanks to the catholic church that the Polish state exists. For centuries brave priests have supported and died for Polish independence. They were persecuted and repressed. If it was not for them there would never have been independence.
For centuries brave priests have supported and died for Polish independence. They were persecuted and repressed. If it was not for them there would never have been independence
But now a group of noisy activists have decided to follow in the footsteps of the libertine Janusz Palikot who tried and failed to build an anti-clerical political party. The current leader of the largest opposition party, Grzegorz Schetyna is attempting to build a broad anti-conservative coalition which is to include these enemies of the church.
It’s not difficult to predict how this will end. But it will be interesting to see if the rural and church-friendly Polish People’s Party (PSL) will join this anti-church alliance. If they do, PSL voters will either stay at home or support another party, as they are only too keenly aware of the role that the Catholic Church plays in defining Polish identity.
