POZNAŃ, Poland (ChurchMilitant.com) – The head of the Polish Episcopal Conference (KEP) has come out clear as a bell against abortion and the politicians who support it, reinforcing Church teaching for the faithful around the world.
The Polish March for Life in Poznań
On Sunday KEP President Abp. Stanisław Gądecki spoke at the March for Life in Poznań, one of Poland’s largest cities and his home diocese. He thanked the crowd for their participation, then reconfirmed the sacredness of human life, spelling out the consequences for Polish politicians who don’t respect it.
His comments come as many Polish politicians — many of them practicing Catholics — are expressing support for ending the country’s near-total ban on abortion.
“A law that violates a child’s natural right to life is unjust,” the archbishop declared. “Any MP [member of Parliament] who votes against life commits a grave sin and thus cannot receive Holy Communion.”
Adherence to Canon Law
A Catholic priest who has served many Poles in the Chicago area told Church Militant he applauds Gądecki’s declaration. He said the archbishop is “simply yet boldly” upholding canon 915 in the Catholic Code of Canon Law, which forbids the distribution of Holy Communion to those who “obstinately persist in manifest grave sin.”
The priest lauded the archbishop for preemptively pushing back against abortion and faux-Catholic politicians who would promote it:
Archbishop Gądecki is to be commended for being on top of this evil initiative in Poland to make abortion legal. As archbishop and head of Poland’s Episcopal Conference, he has every right to say that any MP who votes for green-lighting abortion cannot receive or be given Holy Communion. Moreover, as archbishop, he has every right to remind all Catholics worldwide that aiding or abetting an abortion is a scandalous offense under our Church Canons.
The sixth commandment is “Thou shall not kill.” Anyone who breaches this commandment should not be coming up to the Communion rail to receive our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. The archbishop is to be congratulated for reminding all Poles that anyone who murders someone or aids in murdering someone will be sanctioned.
Poland, often referred to as the bastion of faith, especially during the reign of Pope St. John Paul II, is currently beset by a number of politicians who claim to be Catholic but publicly flaunt their anti-Catholic, pro-abortion positions.
Tusk as Faux-Catholic ‘Poster Child’
An anonymous source on the ground in Poland points to Donald Tusk, leader of the Civic Platform, as a poster child of duplicitous faux-Catholic politicians invading Catholic Poland’s political life.
Donald Tusk
Of Tusk, the source tells Church Militant, “This guy spreads hate, and he thinks that women should have the right to kill their unborn babies. If he is a practicing Catholic, I am an elephant,” the source said.
He added:
I don’t know if he still attends Sunday Mass, but for sure he uses the faith instrumentally. In 2005, he got married in the Church because he was a presidential candidate against Lech Kaczyński [of the conservative Law and Justice Party]. Before, he had lived with his now-wife without a church wedding (and perhaps without a civil wedding). There were photos of him and his family in his flat at a table full of holy pictures and statues that looked like an altar. The photo is still used to expose his hypocrisy.
Now Tusk supports the so-called “Women’s Strike” and its radical leader, Marta Lempart. He often poses with the lesbian-identifying Lempart, sporting a mask with a red thunderbolt, the emblem of the radical feminist abortion movement.
The source warned of the danger to the Church if Tusk and his party gain a sufficient majority along with leftist factions in the next elections.
“They will disassemble Catholic Poland by overturning the abortion ban and pushing so-called LGBT marriages,” he added.
Unlike Gądecki in Poland, U.S. bishops, by and large, remain mum regarding pro-abort politicians receiving Holy Communion. Exceptions include Bp. Joseph Martino of Scranton, who said in 2008 he would refuse Joe Biden; Abp. Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, who said he would refuse Nancy Pelosi; and Bp. Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas.
(L to R) Bp. Strickland, Abp. Cordileone and Bp. Martino
The bishops did broach the issue with Pope Francis during their ad limina visits in 2019–2020. But they were advised by the then-Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith to engage in “intensive and serene dialogue” among themselves “over this controversial topic” before they issued any statement to clarify the matter.
The Chicago priest speaking anonymously to Church Militant said, “Archbishop Gądecki’s stern warning to Poland’s politicians is the ‘Good Shepherd’ thing to do. He shows he is concerned with their salvation, compared to any lesser good. He is a great archbishop, in my opinion, and one who shows his allegiance to God.”