Karol Nawrocki, presidential candidate and head of the Institute of National Remembrance, met with fans in Jasna Gora. There were arguments, now critical comments. Nawrocki himself does not see this issue.
During the pilgrimage of fans to Jasna Gora, there were banners of fans and public. After the gathering ceremony, a meeting with PiS presidential candidate was held in the resort. With shouts like “one with a scythe, one with a hammer, red lord!”
Neither the PiS candidate, who is the president of the Institute of National Remembrance, nor the priests who were present at the meeting did not react to these words in the Jasna Gora hall.
– You wanted to censor slogans in stadiums, it’s too much. Fans are also citizens of the Republic of Poland. I met with them and I will continue to meet with them, said Karol Navroki, candidate for the position of president, law and justice, in response to the question why he did not react.
Only these words “once with a sickle, once with a hammer, red leader!” They did not die in the stadium, but in the sanctum sanctorum – religious place of worship.
Navrotsky on the tour of fans. Screams are heard in the background: “Once with a sickle, once with a hammer, red noise”TVN24
“This is really an incitement to murder”
– This is actually an incitement to murder. It’s not a simple song, I know that some interpret it that way, but it’s hate speech and I would have protested in real time, if I was there – says Anna Maria Žukowska, a leftist representative.
– I really appreciate the feelings of fans and athletes who solve many issues independently, – says Karol Navroki, candidate of Law and Justice for the position of president.
This opinion is not supported by the Minister of the President, who opposes such slogans in Jasna Gora, a unique and sacred place for Poles.
– In a place like Jasna Gora there should be no place for such shouting. It’s over, full stop, and I have no doubt about it, – emphasizes Andrzej Dera, State Secretary of the Presidential Chancellery.
“Destruction of a place sacred to Poles”
Law and justice see nothing controversial in the words themselves. It is an anti-communist slogan that, although there has been no communism in Poland for 36 years, appears periodically, for example, in independence marches, in which PiS politicians regularly participate. The lack of reaction of the presidential candidate, who is the head of the Institute of National Memory, is not surprising from PiS.
According to the MP of this party, someone else should have reacted. – This is a question of the reaction of the clergy, it has a different aspect, because the teachings of Christianity and the Church have a different aspect than purely political and ideological debates, – says Tobias Bochenski, a member of parliament from Law and Justice.
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Fan pilgrimages to Jasna Gora have been controversial for years, and PiS politicians are frequent visitors to the shrine.
– Holding an election campaign in Jasna Gora is really unusual, it’s really insulting a sacred place for Poles, and it’s not the first time that PiS has used it, we’ve seen it many times, – notes Cezary Tomczyk, Deputy Minister of National Defense .
Nowrocki: Pilgrim fans flock to Poland with love TVN24
“The process of using the church for political purposes has started again”
The participants of the pilgrimage of the fans themselves spoke about insults, but towards the people holding the slogans “Poland is for everyone”.
– The process of using the church for political purposes has started again. Again, using a space that is important to all believers, regardless of who they vote for and what their political views are, for their own political interests. I hope that the church will resolutely move away from this, says Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Vladislav Kosniak-Kamys.
Father Pawel Gujinski, who led the “Church Free from Politics” campaign before the previous parliamentary elections, plans to continue it this year.
– We promote it, show it and condemn it as much as possible, because it is in the interest of the Church to regain its power as a religious community, – notes Father Pawel Gujinski, a Dominican.
After the meeting with Karol Navroki, the priests expressed their gratitude to the “loyal and brave” fans.
Main photo source: PAP/Waldemar Deska
