Polish Catholic Church gets bad press
Warsaw or, Poland April 11, 2006 - Pope Benedict the 16th is due to visit Poland starting on the 25th of May 2006. Local media coverage, however, is less about the Pope's coming visit than it is about the problems and business dealings in which the Polish Catholic Church finds itself embroiled.
Most of the problems concerning the Polish Catholic Church that have received local media attention of late relate to the activities of the millionaire Roman Catholic priest Father Tadeusz Rydzyk and his radio station Radio Maria. Father Rydzyk and Radio Maria have delved deeply into Polish politics, Polish business, and, according to some, have continued to broadcast anti-Semitic propaganda.
Radio Maria was instrumental in the election of the ruling Polish political party Law and Justice. Catholic News Agency Since it helped bring the Law and Justice political party to power, Radio Maria has been host to many politicians from the Law and Justice Party who have discussed their political programs on Radio Maria.
The activities of Father Rydzyk in the political sphere have been such that Radio Maria was given a private letter by the Polish bishops that warned Radio Maria about being involved in Polish politics. At the time he was given the letter there were questions as to whether father Rydzyk would comply.
Apparently the Vatican is not happy with the progress made on this matter. The Vatican's representative to Poland followed up with another letter to church authorities in Poland which letter advised them that they should exercise their responsibilities in this matter. The Vatican increases the pressure on the Polish Catholic Church
The public discussion seem to indicate that there is a struggle for control of the Polish Catholic Church. And the seriousness of the struggle is such that the Polish Catholic Church has resorted to making its position on the matter known publicly. The Vatican increases the pressure on the Polish Catholic Church
One Church representative went so far as to say that the activities of Radio Maria and the politicians who are using its services to broadcast their political programs are actually driving people away from the Catholic Church.
Radio Maria has been recently accused of anti-Semitism. During the press coverage of the Polish government's decision to have the death camps at Auschwitz Birkenau renamed, television coverage included an interview with the last leader of the Jewish ghetto uprising in which interview he said that the news from Radio Maria that was like the news during the days of Hitler when the Nazi Germans were discussing the final solution.
Radio Maria also received a lot of criticism for another broadcast discussing what was considered to be the business of the Holocaust. Media watchdog condemns Poland's Radio Maryja for 'anti-Semitic' broadcast
Adding to this press coverage is the now extensive information being distributed about Radio Maria collecting investment certificates from Polish people and investing them in one company on the Polish stock market. Subsequent to the investment that company went bankrupt and all the money has been lost.
Television coverage of these investment activities have shown shipyard workers talking about them all being the same and they're all a bunch of thieves. There have been many calls for the government prosecutors to investigate the many claimed improprieties that occurred in this matter.
So with less than two months from the time that the Pope will visit Poland, the Polish Catholic Church is embroiled in controversies that one would not think appropriate for a church. Likewise it seems that the church authorities are embroiled in a battle for control of the church.
There is little doubt that the Vatican will eventually prevail in any dispute. But how much damage will be done to the Polish Catholic Church in the process of regaining control remains to be seen.
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