Polish Catholic
Church Path
To Voting
Poland's Catholic Church Advises Polish Prime Minister's Voter Base
Warsaw, Poland 15 October, 2007 The Polish Catholic Church reminded the Poland's voters that they have an obligation to vote in keeping with the fundamental values taught by the Church. In a letter by Polish Bishops that was read to congregations all over Poland this weekend, people were told that they should pay attention to the moral condition of political candidates, their identity, values and readiness to cooperate with others.
Prime Minister Kaczynski's voter base rests primarily in the countryside among the older population and followers of Radio Maria's Father Taduesz Rydzyk. These voters are devoutly Catholic and tend to support Kaczynski.
How much some of them support him and his party was made reported today in the Polish Weekly Gazeta Wyborcza.
In Lublin, after the Church service yesterday, PIS flyers distributed on the church's premises. When a Gazeta Wyborcza reporter started taking pictures, some people surrounded him, started calling him names, and told him to "f__k off". One woman hit him in the face. Finally a man urged people to calm down and the reporter was able to get away.
The candidates whose fliers were distributed said that they had no idea about what happened. They that people take their flyers and distribute them way they want. Candidates have no control over what they do.
The priest of the church was not available all day for comment. The Catholic District Spokesman said he was sorry and such incident shouldn't take place on a church's premises. PiS agituje przed kosciolem
The Church letter is seen as encouragement for these people to get out and support Kaczynski by voting.
It is also gives Priest Taduesz Rydzyk a week to interpret the message according to his views and broadcast it to his followers who are avid Kaczynski fans.
The Church has issued letters about voting in the past. But the reading of the letter in the Churches by the Priests with the attending commentary is reported by some to be quite different than last year.
Last year some church goers complained that they were told to go and vote for people who support "law and justice" in Poland. This year those same people say that they did not hear the words law and justice mentioned but were to support an agenda that was essentially the Prime Minister's Law And Justice party line.
The vote in the elections to be held next Sunday will essentially face off two groups. One will be the older, church attending rural population that is predominantly pro-Kaczynski and the other the younger, mobile population that is generally anti-Kaczynski. The election will probably turn on which group turns out in greater numbers.
In the last election, voter turnout was low. The young tended to not vote while the older people in the countryside did. That kept the turnout at about 40% and put Kaczynski into power.
This year the Church is telling the people that they have an obligation to vote. That is not likely to be lost on the people next Sunday when they go to Church. They can be expected to be once again reminded of the Bishop's letter by their priests, in one way or another, that they should vote and how they should think about their choices.
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