(Warsaw) Thousands of Poles demonstrated on Sunday to defend the reputation of former Pope John Paul II, who was recently accused of concealing pedophilia crimes when he was archbishop, in a country known for its attachment to the Catholic faith.
On horseback, in historical dress or only with the yellow and white Vatican flag or the white and red of Poland, tens of thousands of Poles in Warsaw followed a “patriotic procession for the pope” who died in April 2005.
PHOTO WOJTEK RADWANSKI, AFP
A demonstration in Warsaw
Like all other marches, this one was organized by Catholic organizations with the open support of the government and the ruling Populist Nationalist Party (PiS). Notably, the Polish Minister of Defense Mariusz Blaszczak participated.
One of the banners carried by the participants read: “As any honest man will defend his children, his father and his mother, and any Pole will defend John Paul II.”
Photo by Kakper Pimple, Reuters
A demonstration in Warsaw
“We pass the test by carrying the truth, which must be opposed to lies, slander and insults,” Prime Minister Mateusz Moraviki tweeted in particular.
In a message to members of his left, Law and Justice party chairman Jaroslaw Kaczynski stressed, “We thank God for this immeasurable gift that the Polish pope has been and continues to have for the Church, Poland and the world.”
“We stand to defend his honor and his good name,” he insisted a few months before the legislative elections in Poland.
Photo by Kakper Pimple, Reuters
A woman prays in front of Warsaw Cathedral
On the same day, a statue of John Paul II was vandalized in Łódź (center): his hands were covered in red paint and the base had the inscription “Maxima culpa” (“the greatest mistake”, editor’s note).
This inscription refers to a book by journalist Eke Overbock maxima culpa. John Paul II knewIt was recently published in Poland.
Ce live and un reportage semblable sur la chaîne commerciale TVN ont affirmé que le future pape avait dissimulé des affairses de pedophilie, ce qui a provoqué depuis un debat houleux entre le pouvoir et l’Église, d’un côté, les libéraux et la gauche from the last.
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