Poland: Christians, Not LGBT, Under Threat

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WARSAW, Poland (ChurchMilitant.com) - A renowned legal institute devoted to protecting human rights is denouncing fake news regarding LGBT discrimination in Poland.

In a recent interview with International Family News, Bartosz Lewandowski, lawyer and director of the Litigation Center of Ordo Iuris, pushed back against a disinformation campaign conducted by the leftist media and their LGBT counterparts.

In response to a media claim that an LGBT activist was arrested for hoisting a rainbow flag on a monument in Warsaw, Lewandowski said, "It's false," and slammed media for discrediting Poland with "fake news about our government."

"Nevertheless that [story] was picked up by both Reuters and representatives of the European Commission: This shows the level of manipulation of and disinformation, which aims to strike at the prestige and reputation of the Polish state, to present Poland as a 'homophobic' country," argued the lawyer.

Lewandowski said, "We must take a step back." He explained the reason for the arrest documented by video:

In late June, a group of LGBT activists attacked a volunteer from a pro-life foundation ... on the streets of Warsaw. The video of the incident shows the fury with which the perpetrators acted. In August, one of the suspects in this case, Michał Sz. [a transgender], aka Margot, was temporarily arrested. He was quickly then presented as a hero for the LGBT cause by the left-wing media.

"But the case is very simple," the lawyer said, "we are dealing with a criminal offense, a crime involving the use of violence against another person, with damage to health and destruction of property."

The Charter Targeted

Another target of the disinformation campaign conducted by the media is the Charter of Family Rights, co-authored by Ordo Iuris Institute. The charter, which has been adopted by several family-friendly municipalities, merely affirms what is already inherent in the Polish Constitution:

• the identity of marriage as a relationship between a woman and a man
• the right to protection of family life
• the right of parents to raise their children in accord with their own convictions

As such, the charter argues the primacy of parents regarding their children's education. "Care and educational institutions cannot replace family upbringing with content which is contradictory to them or which prejudices the natural identity of the family," it reads.

But Lewandowski pointed out the media has mischaracterized the family-friendly towns as "LGBT-free zones."

"It is a process of manipulating reality," Lewandowski said. "The [family charter] contains no reference to people who identify with the LGBT+ movement; yet it is accused of being an expression of discrimination."

To advance this misperception, LGBT activists have posted "LGBT-free zone" signs in public places. According to TVPINFO, LGBT activist and Obama Foundation leader Bart Staszewski placed "LGBT-free zone" placards next to pro-family town or village signs, taking photos of them and spreading fake news. Staszewski has been sued by Reduta Dobrego Imienia, an anti-defamation organization, which accuses him of "segregating people" and falsehood.

The leftist media attack on Catholic Poland is concerted and often centers on misstating the substance of the family charter.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, decried the "LGBT-free zones" last month, saying they stigmatize LGBT people. She went on to say that "LGBT-free zones" are "humanity-free zones."

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden retweeted her pronouncement.

In a sweeping hyperbole, L'Espresso, an Italian newspaper, recently described a Polish "hunt for homosexuals."

Two Italian Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) filed a parliamentary motion in August to "sanction Poland and protect the LGBTQI activists [sic] arrested in Warsaw."

A particularly egregious attack was the Sept. 27 open letter sent by 50 ambassadors — one of them the U.S. ambassador to Poland, Georgette Mosbacher — to the government of Poland. The letter lambasted Poland while expressing support "to raise public awareness of issues affecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community."

Polish media outlet PolandIn reported on Mosbacher describing "LGBTI-free zones" as a sign of Poland's "homophobia." Though the ambassador admitted that the zones have no legal standing, she nonetheless claimed that what they symbolize does not "help build Poland's reputation."

Who Is Persecuting Whom?

Rather than Christians persecuting LGBT, Lewandowski says, LGBT activists and ideology are persecuting Christians.

Christians are far more apt to be victims of "sectarian hatred," he indicated. Leftist LGBT activists "are committing more and more attacks on what is sacred for believers."

The attacks "range from the profanation of sacred images to insults to Christians by a musical group, to the creation of blasphemous images and even physical attacks on priests and the destruction of objects in churches," he said. The Institute's monitoring program recorded 40 cases of this type in 2019.

A Catholic living in Poland who wishes to remain anonymous corroborated Lewandowski's version of events.

"I haven't heard about any homosexual fired from work, but I've heard about Catholics fired or having problems because of their orthodoxy and critical remarks about homosexual ideology," he told Church Militant. "I have also never heard about any devout Catholic beating up a homosexual person, but I've heard about homosexuals beating up a pro-life driver, hurling insults and damaging someone's property (mainly church buildings and pro-life vehicles)."

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