The Archbishop of Przemysl in South-Eastern Poland, a notoriously outspoken figure, has given a sharp and stern judgement: “We are witnessing a systematic attack on the Church from various libertine, atheist and Masonic spheres.”
According to Michalik, the Church is not spared by liberal media, or by institutions that should “protect pluralism in the media” (alluding to the fact that the national body that controls the activities of radio and television broadcasters KRRT denied the television channel TRWAM, owned by the famous Fr. Tadeusz Rydzyk, access to the first digital and terrestrial television platform in Poland.”
The first response came from the MEP Joanna Senyszyn who spoke of “clichés, falsity and manipulation.”
According to this representative of the Left, Archbishop Michalik “lacks a basic honesty.”
This is all the more surprising in light of the comment the archbishop made in his letter about falsity being “the devil’s method.”
Mrs. Senyszyn said the archbishop’s words were an expression of outright hypocrisy as Poland was not engaging in a “systematic attack on the Church”, but trying to “unveil the truth” regarding its wrongdoings, including the cases of paedophilia in the clergy.
“It would show greater honesty on her part - Michalik replied back – if she examined her conscience to see the error of her and her supporter’s ways.”
Another astonishing comment in response to the archbishop of Przemyl’s letter came from Mariusz Kaminski, Vice-President of Poland’s Law and Justice party (PiS), led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
According to him, masonry in Poland is a marginal phenomenon and its influence on the life of the Country is “a joke”.
“Perhaps I have not been well informed and I am wrong, but Michalik is exaggerating,” Kaminski said in a statement.
Former Dominican Tadeusz Bartos’ response on the other hand was more predictable.
He did not miss out on the chance to throw the “incitement to hate towards certain social groups,” back in the archbishop’s face.
He defined the words which the president of the Polish Episcopate used in his letter as a “language of hate,” claiming it showed “ingratitude towards the state which favours the Church.”
Initiatives of this kind, said the former cleric, aim to “single out an enemy and any political division among those who are suffering for the sake of truth, and enemies who are related to the devil himself.”