Beloved by his parishioners, very much appreciated by liberally minded mainstream media, Reverend Wojciech Lemański, has been ordered by his superior, archbishop Hoser to immediately vacate the position of the rector at the Jasienica parish in Poland.
Arch Bishop also force him to retire from the service, in spite of his young age. This is a latest development in prolonged conflict between Reverend Lemański and the Archbishop. Lemański was not very forthcoming in explaining the cause of the problems, he run into with the hierarchy of the Polish Catholic Church, but few days ago, surprised by wild speculation swirling in the press on the subject, he finally reviled, that some years ago, during a heated exchange at the meeting at which his intense involvement in Christian-Jewish dialog, was scrutinized, angry archbishop Hoser, asked him a pointblank question, “Are you one of them? Are you circumcised?”
Stupefied, and disgusted, reverend quickly left the meeting. What followed was a series of hostile moves against rev. Lemański, finally culminating in this last retaliatory action of archbishop.
And now, everybody who is anybody in Poland, has to say something about this situation. And, not surprisingly, what they say about it, very much depends on where do they stand on the issue of Catholic Church and anti Semitism, still prevalent in Poland.
Janina Jankowska, well-known TV personality, and a journalist, posted a note on her blog in which she said:
“... I’m not thrilled by the way in which rev. Lemański made the whole thing public, and most of all, I don’t like that he put his interest in front of the his mission, and the interest of the faithful of his parish. What was more important: to continue Christian-Jewish dialog, or letting stupid, improper words of the archbishop to get to him, to allow them to offend him. This question discredits the bishop, not rev. Lemański, writes Jankowska,so why did he feel so offended by it? Why did he fell stung by the insinuation that he may be a Jew? So what, if he was?, she asks, and then she continues,It pains me that archbishop asked such a question during the debate about Christian-Jewish dialog. He profaned the sacred."
She is right about that. What the bishop did is disgraceful. But why she pretends not to understand the very strong reaction of rev. Lemański? Why she pretends not to know that this question, asked by the bishop of the Catholic Church, was not a friendly effort to know his subordinate better, but one ment to discredit him, and offend? Doesn’t she know that there is a huge difference between a casual question, are you Jewish? and the one which goes like this: Are you one of them?, admit it, are you circumcised? Sure she knows. Everybody knows. Especially in Poland.
But this is the best you can get in my country. This meek defense of besieged priest, accompanied by scolding, for a balance, is probably the most he can count on from the believers in Poland, where an open, public critique of the Church elder is not a safe thing to do, even if the elder is as outrages as Monsignor Hoser is.
Inne tematy w dziale Polityka
