Post by Jaga on May 15, 2019 3:18:41 GMT -7
Today Washington Post has the analysis of what is the relationship between the Catholic Church and the right wing governments in selected countries. Below is their take on Poland:
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/05/14/does-catholic-church-back-right-wing-populists-depends-country/?hpid=hp_hp-cards_hp-card-world%3Ahomepage%2Fcard&utm_term=.a7adc858f2ac
Poland: Seek closer ties to right-wing populists
Farther north, Poland’s right-wing populist government has adopted many of the same policies pursued by Salvini and his allies in Italy. Poland’s Law and Justice party is at least as opposed to refugees and immigration — but curiously, those positions have not stood in the way of closer ties to the Catholic Church.
In a country where nearly 9 in 10 people identify as Catholic, Law and Justice is hoping that its increasingly cozy relationship to the church will preserve its electoral majority. The Catholic Church in Poland, for its part, has seen the party as a welcome ally as it struggles with a surge of child sex abuse accusations against Polish priests.
With the ruling Law and Justice party openly strengthening its ties to the clergy, some liberal opposition members are hoping that putting curbs on the church’s powers will become a campaign issue during the next general election this November or in European elections this month. Polls show that even though Poland is a staunchly Catholic nation on paper, many Poles support a separation between church and state and fewer citizens regularly attend church service.
Recently, a black comedy called “Kler” (Polish for “Clergy”) became a surprise blockbuster hit in Poland, drawing more than 4 million people to cinemas and becoming the third-most successful film here since the end of communism. The movie’s focus on sexual abuse by priests would have been unthinkable only years ago, but the church’s growing association with right-wing populists has opened the powerful institution up to partisan criticism from left-wing parties that would have found that too risky not long ago.
Human rights advocates say the government is coming to the church’s rescue and clamping down on such criticism. Earlier this month, liberal Polish protesters took to the streets after a human rights activist was detained over posters depicting Virgin Mary with LGBTQ rainbow halos.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/05/14/does-catholic-church-back-right-wing-populists-depends-country/?hpid=hp_hp-cards_hp-card-world%3Ahomepage%2Fcard&utm_term=.a7adc858f2ac
Poland: Seek closer ties to right-wing populists
Farther north, Poland’s right-wing populist government has adopted many of the same policies pursued by Salvini and his allies in Italy. Poland’s Law and Justice party is at least as opposed to refugees and immigration — but curiously, those positions have not stood in the way of closer ties to the Catholic Church.
In a country where nearly 9 in 10 people identify as Catholic, Law and Justice is hoping that its increasingly cozy relationship to the church will preserve its electoral majority. The Catholic Church in Poland, for its part, has seen the party as a welcome ally as it struggles with a surge of child sex abuse accusations against Polish priests.
With the ruling Law and Justice party openly strengthening its ties to the clergy, some liberal opposition members are hoping that putting curbs on the church’s powers will become a campaign issue during the next general election this November or in European elections this month. Polls show that even though Poland is a staunchly Catholic nation on paper, many Poles support a separation between church and state and fewer citizens regularly attend church service.
Recently, a black comedy called “Kler” (Polish for “Clergy”) became a surprise blockbuster hit in Poland, drawing more than 4 million people to cinemas and becoming the third-most successful film here since the end of communism. The movie’s focus on sexual abuse by priests would have been unthinkable only years ago, but the church’s growing association with right-wing populists has opened the powerful institution up to partisan criticism from left-wing parties that would have found that too risky not long ago.
Human rights advocates say the government is coming to the church’s rescue and clamping down on such criticism. Earlier this month, liberal Polish protesters took to the streets after a human rights activist was detained over posters depicting Virgin Mary with LGBTQ rainbow halos.