POLISH VERSION OF ZAPATERO’S POLICY
TOMASZ P. TERLIKOWSKI
Donald Tusk started a war against believers in God. And only a blind man cannot see that. Other decisions explicitly show that the time of protection for Christianity has already finished and the prime minister decided that he had found a way to destroy the authority of the Church.
When a few years ago we and Grzegorz Górny wrote a book entitled ‘A fight for Madrid’, and we devoted the last chapter for an answer to the question whether the scenario of Zapatero’s policy is possible in Poland. And I do not hide that we were nearly sure Zapatero’s policy will not exist in Poland. Our nation has always appreciated moderation and common sense and it has never been liable to be subjected to ideological madness. However, we were wrong. The ideological revolt reaches also us, and its main exponent is not Janusz Palikot clowning without limit, but....the Prime Minister Donald Tusk. And although this diagnosis may sound radical in many ears, I suggest looking at decisions and announcement of the decisions from only the last weeks.
Anti-ecclesiastical Blitzkrieg
It started with the announcement of liquidation of the Church Fund, later, from the clearly political revenge – Television ‘Trwam’ was refused the right for broadcasting on the digital platform, liquidation of some structures of military ordinariate was started and finally, the duty of financing catechesis by the state was transferred onto self-governments (which means in short that it was decided that catechesis is not only an unimportant lesson but that it does not need to be financed at all). So many decisions aimed against church institutions and people believing in God, but there are also the announcements whose realisation is aimed against morality and the right of the Catholics to the freedom of speech. The Civic Platform has already announced the submission of the Law project allowing concubinage couples (also ones of the same sex) some marital rights, and minister Agnieszka Kozłowska – Rajewicz threatens to introduce the Act punishing with imprisonment those who express their hatred towards trans- and homosexual people (in Holland the Catholics who quote the Catholic Church Catechism are sentenced on the basis of this paragraph).
The Civic Platform and the Prime Minister Tusk governments, with their anti-catholic attitude, did not start in this term of office. In the previous term of office, the Civic Platform questioned the truth about the fact that the marriage is the relation between a woman and a man, imposed a party-discipline against life, completely opposed to the prohibition of in vitro conception and finally, deprived parents of their right to bring up their children in their own way (Christian editors are visited by procurators who demand the withdrawal book from sale in which there are remarks about corporal punishments which, according to the Bible, can by executed by parents). This all shows without any slightest doubt that Tusk and his political party went onto the path of Zapatero’s policy, that is, systematic destroying of the Church and Christian morality.
Polish version of Zapatero’s policy
The mistake which we and Grzegorz Górny made in the evaluation of the possibility of realisation of the Polish version of Zapatero’s policy was mainly based on the fact that we admitted that the realisation would be similar in the matter of methods to the one which could be observed in Madrid. However, Zapatero’s policy can have various faces: in Spain where there has always been anti- Christian leftist party which murdered priests and is still popular, Zapatero’s policy appeared openly against the Church. In Poland there is no demand for this version. Everyone who would be against Christianity could rely on 10-15 % votes (that is as many as Palikot gained). So, the fight against the Church, weakening its authority must be in a different way. And it seems that Donald Tusk decided that he had found it and started using it. The Civic Platform does not intend to carry out an open and worldview fight against the Church (because, it knows that it would lose it), however, it replaces the fight with an economic war which – knowing the type of anticlericalism in Poland – may win. Convincing Poles that money must be taken away from ‘the blacks’ is extremely easy and raising the hatred to the allegedly rich institution does not bring clever propagandists any problems. However, the purpose is not money but causing the situation in which the Church, demanding respect for the law obliging in Poland, will be place in the role of an enemy of the clever prime minister who is rescuing the country and wallets of Poles from the crisis. And when the Church is deprived of its authority, the government will be able to get down to continuing the moral revolution...Certainly, not under the mottos of progress but equality in rights and catching up with Europe.
Necessary Catholic self-defence
The perfidy of solutions accepted by Donald Tusk is obvious. When accused that he is leading a war against the Church, he can always answer, that he means only the restriction of the expenditures of the country, which is essential in the situation of such a deep crisis. And by the way, as if incidentally, he realises (and in fact self-governments drained from money are doing it with his hands) the projects of the extreme leftist party – the media will appreciate what he is doing as something positive. Clear demanding of the justice, respecting the right of property or fulfilling contracts by the state, although the Church will be right in these issues as well, but it will strengthen the propaganda of anti-clerical activists who – will repeat like mantra that the Church demands privileges and money. And it is going to weaken the authority of the only guardian of morality in Poland. Is there any escape form this situation, from this self-winding mechanism which Tusk prepared for the Church? The answer is: yes. We must, we – that is, first of all, secular Catholics – start defending our rights definitely and explicitly. And it is not only about religious rights but, first of all, civilian rights. Schools are not public in Poland and if most parents want religion to be in them, then it must be in them. And if the ministry cannot respect it, it should expect protests, with which, comparably, the protests against compulsory sending six-year-olds to schools were only a prelude. If the authority wants to destroy Catholic media, it must expect that street protests in the defence of the Television ‘Trwam’ will be growing more and more until Tusk and his team withdraw or finish their policy like Zapatero did. However, to make this all possible, it is necessary that we, Catholics, should act courageously so that we could be seen and be respected more than laic media.
(AA)
"Niedziela" 13/2012