The fresh billboard run is funded from the money of the Justice Fund, which is owned by Zbigniew ZiobroSource: Aleksander Rajewski/Fenestra
In December 2022 fresh billboards appeared on the streets of Polish cities. Although they could rapidly make associations with the Kornica Foundation posters, this time individual else is behind them. What do we know about the run to defend Christians financed from the pockets of citizens?
A large purple billboard proclaims: “He who offends another people’s spiritual feelings, insulting publically the object of spiritual worship or a place intended for the public performance of spiritual rites, is subject to fines, penalties the regulation of liberty or imprisonment until the age of 2.” That's part of article 196 of the Criminal Code. The run is intended to counter the alleged wave of persecution of Christians in Poland. The scale of the problem is shown by a 30-second place on the website of the Center for the Protection of the Rights of Christians, in which the presenter reports accidents specified as the beheading of a roadside cross, the demolition of a church in Szczecin or the demolition of a roadside chapel in Gdańsk. He then laments that perpetrators of akin acts frequently stay unpunished. Finally, a serious man’s voice urges: “Do not be indifferent. Respond.”
Who is behind the Center for the Protection of the Rights of Christians?
There is much more shocking information on Christian persecution on the Centre’s website. Visitors to the site will first come across the map of the world. There are different colors of countries in which repression occurs, and the problem is measured in an unspecified scale. The countries of northern Africa and confederate Asia are the first to be seen. Poland seemingly goes beyond the scale, due to the fact that it was not even included on the map (the same as the remainder of Europe). However, the Centre website is full of meticulous examples of persecution in Poland. From the “updates” tab we can learn about the burglary in the church in Lublin – the 36-year-old destroyed the figurine from the Bethlehem Nativity scene, and now he says that he returned from the event and does not know how it happened. Among the articles we will besides find promotion of the fresh draft Kai Godek Act “Abortion is Murder” or TVP series about the life of Jesus. In addition to the voices of outrage that in Czestochowa councillors do not want to finance spiritual lessons from city money, as well as sensational reports that in Texas the number of abortions fell by 97%!
The Center for the Protection of the Rights of Christians is an initiative of the Foundation Lux Veritatis, whose president is Father Tadeusz RydzykSource: photograph Joanna Adamik, Katarzyna Katarzynska/Wikipedia/Public domain
The Center for the Protection of Christian Rights is an initiative of the Lux Veritatis Foundation, whose president is well-known father-businessman Tadeusz Rydzyk. Father Jan Król and Lidia Kochanowicz-Mank are besides on the board. The last of the names was inactive rather popular in the media. Well, in March 2022, a board associate was convicted of not disclosing information about public spending to the Watchdog Polska Association. Tadeusz Rydzyk then called media pressures "persecution of Christians". According to the calculation of OKO.press from the beginning of the PiS regulation until the end of 2020, Rydzyk's father received PLN 325,034,641 from public money for his projects (of which PLN 7 116,960 in 2020 for the next 4 years of the Centre's operations). Lidia Kochanowicz-Mańk's conviction assumed 3 months of imprisonment in suspension for 1 year. The another members of the board of directors avoided punishment. Zbigniew Ziobro, Krystyna Pawłowicz or Robert Bąkiewicz were opposed to the trial and media prosecution. In September 2021, the court overturned the sentence.
What does Zbigniew Ziobro gotta do with billboards?
Although the logo of the Center for the Protection of the Rights of Christians is most prominent on the posters, it is impossible to overlook the eagle in the crown below. Right next to the inscription: Ministry of Justice and the Justice Fund. This is not the first time the minister has set himself the goal of protecting Christians. In December 2021, in Szczecin, Billboards funded by the Ministry of Justice with the slogan “This Is truly Happening” and a photograph of a man stepping on a cross appeared. The run was then formed in cooperation with the Fidei Defensor Association. The motto of the group is: “Together we will defend faith!”
The fresh billboard run is funded from the money of the Justice Fund, which, according to the website, "provides immediate and free ad hoc assistance to victims of crime, witnesses and their loved ones, including victims of armed aggression in Ukraine".
Why is the fact that the run is funded by Minister Zbigniew Ziobro so important? How do fresh billboards disagree from these Kornice Foundations? Well, the posters we know so far were paid from Eko Window's money. president Mateusz Kłosek made a considerable fortune, which he decided to usage to convert sinful Poles. Although forced evangelization on the streets did not appeal to everyone, at least not everyone had to pay for it. Now the situation is different. The money from the Justice Fund is, in the end, citizens' money collected through taxes.
However, Ziebra’s actions do not halt there. Solidarna Polska tries to push through a fresh bill called “In the defence of Christians”. Thanks to her, the paragraph appearing on billboards can shortly take on fresh content. Among another things, the Act assumes that "public slander or mocking of the Church, or any another spiritual union with a regulated legal situation, its dogmas, or rites" and "public insult of the object of spiritual worship, or of the place for the public performance of spiritual rites".
Karolina SZMYGIN
