In a conversation with Gazeta.pl, former PO senator Stefan Niesiołowski launched a controversial attack on St. John Paul II. He also voiced allegations about a supposed dictatorship in Poland and suggested that supporters of the ruling party could target their opponents with violence.
Niesiołowski claimed that St. John Paul II should be forgotten by Poles.
“As far as I’m concerned, the Pope should be forgotten. The facts that are emerging about him now are troubling. Adam Michnik attempted to defend him in Wyborcza, but even he admitted that in some instances there was no dispute. I think it should be forgotten,” he stated.
He clarified that this did not deny the Pope’s merits, noting pillars like ecumenism and resistance to anti-Semitism. Yet, he argued that defending pedophiles is unacceptable. He acknowledged that the Church faced moral failures in the past, but maintained that the Pope’s defenders, including PiS, had acted in a scandalous political manner.
“The defense of the Pope by PiS is a repugnant political move,” he added.
Niesiołowski explained that his stance toward the Polish pope had shifted because he did not know the facts that are now surfacing.
“I didn’t know the facts we know now. I went on a pilgrimage, I visited the Vatican, and John Paul II was a great man at the time. After what I know now, I wouldn’t attend such meetings. A photo with the Pope would not be a source of pride today,” he said.
Niesiołowski recently gave an interview to GW in which he argued that statues of John Paul II should be removed. In the Gazeta.pl interview, he reiterated his provocative view.
He argued that this could not be a targeted attack, a mass action, or an expression of hatred comparable to tearing down monuments to communists. He warned that such monuments would simply offend people, and that they would remove them themselves. He asserted that it is impossible to sustain a cult of personality on such a scale if only the PiS regime and its supporters were behind it.
“Now I say the same about the PiS dictatorship,” he asserted in another portion of the interview.
In a later exchange, Niesiołowski described what he sees as a dictatorship in Poland today. He had previously criticized a communist regime, but now he spoke of a PiS dictatorship.
When asked whether the two dictatorships were identical, Niesiołowski replied that they were not the same, but bore many similarities. He argued that in some respects the PiS era was more repellent than communism, where corruption may have been less visible. In other places, he said, the situation was calmer as there was no routine terror or political prisoners, yet the atmosphere remained coercive.
As the conversation continued, he suggested that PiS supporters might resort to violence against political opponents if Poland were not part of the EU. He warned that a real dictatorship could emerge, and that killings could occur.
“If we were not in the EU, they would not accept us today, and a real dictatorship would take shape in Poland. Then they would start killing,” Niesiołowski warned.
The interviewer, Grzegorz Wysocki, pressed for clarification. “I’m listening,” he replied, prompting Niesiołowski to intensify his warnings. He wondered aloud whether one could guarantee that such actions were absolutely impossible and questioned how anyone could know they were not going to follow the example of Lukashenko.
“Have you seen the faces of these prisoners? Have you seen Poczobut? This could be our fate today if we were outside the EU and if Trump were still in power,” Niesiołowski concluded, painting a stark, alarming picture.
Observers noted that Stefan Niesiołowski’s statements were sensational and even astonished the Gazeta.pl interviewer. The attack on St. John Paul II drew particular criticism for its sensationalism and perceived lack of factual basis.
For readers seeking further context, media outlets have highlighted the evolving discourse surrounding memorials and national figures during times of political tension. [Source: wPolityce]