Poland: Thousands demonstrate in defense of former Pope John Paul II

On Sunday, April 2, tens of thousands of Poles marched to defend the reputation of former Pope John Paul II. This march was organized by Catholic organizations and circles with the support of the government.

Unlimited loyalty to the former Sovereign Pope. Several thousand Poles demonstrated on Sunday, April 2, to defend the reputation of former Pope John Paul II, recently accused of concealing pedophilia crimes while he was archbishop, in a country known for its attachment to the Catholic faith. As a reminder, the former head of the Catholic Church, Karol Josef Wojtyla in civilian life, was a Pole.

They followed, in Warsaw, a “national march for the Pope” who died in April 2005. This march, like all the others, was organized by Catholic organizations and circles with the support of the government and the ruling Populist Nationalist Party (PiS).

Notably, the Polish Minister of Defense Mariusz Blaszczak participated. “As any honest man defends his children, his father and his mother, any Pole defends John Paul II,” one of the signs at the demonstration could read. “What is happening in Poland is a great scandal (…) a deliberate act aimed at destroying the authority of the Polish pope,” declared protester Alicja Fabertinoska.

Defending the memory of the former sovereign pope

“We pass the test by carrying the truth, which must be opposed to lies, slander and insults,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki wrote on Twitter. His chancellery, that of President Andrzej Duda and members of the Law and Justice party posted on their websites messages in defense of the memory of the former pope, in particular in Poland.

A concert is scheduled for the evening in the main square of Wadowice, the birthplace of John Paul II, organized by state television, and should be attended in particular by Mateusz Morawiecki and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, head of the Law and Justice party. The latter, “thanked God for this immeasurable gift that the Polish pope was and is for the Church, Poland and the world,” in a letter to members of his party. “We stand to defend his honor and his good name,” he insisted, a few months before the legislative elections.

President Duda is scheduled to go to the Vatican on Monday to pay his respects at the tomb of John Paul II. This Sunday, a statue of John Paul II was vandalized in Lodz, in the center of the country. His hands were covered in red paint and the base had the inscription “Maxima culpa” (the biggest mistake in French). This inscription refers to a book by journalist Eke Overbock entitled Maxima culpa. The Flag of John Paul II ”, recently published in Poland.