- The Centre of Life and household organized a solidarity action with the prisoner Fr Michał Olszewski.
- The case of Fr Michael has a political dimension and is simply a manifestation of an expanding attack on the Catholic Church in Poland.
- The Foundation prepared and sent a commemorative card to the post, encouraging the writing of wishes and expressions of support for the priest.
- At the same time, a website was created on which it was possible to put an entry in the solidarity book, which the foundation intends to print and hand over to the clergyman after his release from custody.
- More than 2.5 1000 pages were returned to the Foundation's headquarters, which were sent to the address of the detention center where the clergy presently reside.
The Centre of Life and Family, together with the Ordo Iuris Institute, has been following the arrest of the heart, Fr Michał Olszewski, in connection with allegations of obtaining backing from the Justice Fund for the activities of the Profeto Foundation, which he is president.
Representatives of both organizations argue that we are becoming observers again (as in the times of communism) an expanding attack on the Catholic Church in Poland and its priests. Aggression is already taking the form of not only verbal harassment and loudly expressed resentment, but it is changing into physical attacks and systemic force directed at priests.
Showing arrests, starving, depriving access to drinking water, forcing physiological needs to be met in demeaning conditions, sleep deprivation, and in the meantime hours-long, comprehensive interrogations. For specified torture, let us say, was subjected to the detention of Fr Olszewski, as he himself spoke of through his lawyer, as indicated by representatives of the Centre of Life and Family.
As the priest’s protector, Krzysztof Wąsowski, convinces, holding a priest in custody is simply a political matter, and the priest himself and the 2 officials of the Ministry of Justice held with him are the victims of the settlements with the government of the P.I.P. that the current government has promised its constituents.
Disturbing media reports of force against the priest in custody prompted the foundation to take action that could in any way aid and encourage the imprisoned priest.
The Foundation prepared and sent to its Friends and Contributors a commemorative card with the image of a clergyman, encouraging the writing of expressions of solidarity and wishes to Fr Michael. More than 2.5 1000 pages were sent back to the Foundation's headquarters, which were sent to the address of the Warsaw-Służewiec detention center, where the clergy are being held.
At the same time, the foundation launched a website Supported byksiedzamichala.plwhere it was possible to put an entry in the book with expressions of support and assurances of prayer for the priest. As the run organizers stressed on the website:
In keeping with the orders of concern for prisoners and comfort for the troubled, we want to show our support for Father Michał Olszewski, creating a book in which each Pole afraid with his destiny will be able to express his words of encouragement, assurance of prayer and memory.
According to the initiators of the action, the number of entries with the words of support for the clergyman was so large that more than 2 and a half times exceeded the planned volume of the solidarity book. A full of around 7.4 1000 entries were collected, which will be included in the printed version of the book. The book will be handed over personally to the priest Michał Olszewski just after his release from custody.
