Catholic TV broadcaster's licence triggers row in Poland

By Eva Krafczyk Jan 23, 2012, 14:06 GMT

Warsaw - Tadeusz Rydzyk is one of Poland's most controversial and at the same time most influential priests, building up a media empire from his base in Torun in the north-west of the country over the past 20 years.

The conservative Catholic is the moving spirit behind Radio Maryja, the newspaper Nasz Dziennik and the television station Trwam.

While Rydzyk, a member of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, or the Redemptorists, is adored by his adherents, he faces sharp criticism from many others, including the Vatican and many Polish bishops, for what they see as a narrow-minded and intolerant attitude out of tune with the times and Polish society.

The controversy has erupted with renewed energy after the Polish Broadcasting Council failed to include Trwam when it issued broadcast licences for the new digital network that is to cover Poland from next year onwards.

Poland's conservative parties see the refusal of a licence as a threat to freedom of speech.

'This is the next step in destroying Poland's spirit and Christian culture,' Rydzyk, 66, told his audience. 'Is this freedom? Aren't 90 per cent of taxes paid by Catholics? And aren't Catholics thus supporting their own oppressors?' he asked rhetorically.

Rydzyk immediately named those he held responsible, accusing them of a conspiracy. The Broadcasting Council was dominated by Poland's liberal and left-wing parties, he said.

'We have the feeling that this has been manipulated. Somebody is behind this,' said the conservative priest, who stands accused of being overtly political in his broadcasts.

Radio Maryja listeners have grown accustomed to hearing about dark foreign powers conspiring against Catholic Poland. In its programmes, Rydzyk's media empire has for years railed against Western moral decadence and communist enemies who it insists continue to exist.

Polish bishops have frequently criticized perceived anti-Semitism in Radio Maryja broadcasts, but Rydzyk, as a member of a missionary order, does not fall under the episcopate and can shrug off the criticism.

However, the decision on granting licences, whether to a talent show, news channel, sports programme or a religious broadcaster, was taken primarily on business criteria.

The Broadcasting Council doubted whether Rydzyk's Trwam, represented by the Lux Veritatis Foundation as its financial backer, had the necessary financial means to make the leap into the digital era.

'If an applicant fails to meet the requirements, no licence is awarded. There are no holy cows. We live under the rule of law not under the rule of Father Rydzyk,' Dariusz Jonski, spokesman for the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), said in defending the decision.

Poland's conservative nationalist opposition is up in arms at what it sees as a disgraceful decision by the Broadcasting Council.

Opposition leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski of the Law and Justice (PiS) party complains that a community 'that has at least 30-per-cent support' is being excluded from the electronic media.

PiS member Elzbieta Kruk has said the party aims to take the case to the State Tribunal tasked with upholding the constitution.

Rydzyk's audience has also mobilized. According to Radio Maryja, they have sent around 100,000 protest letters to the Broadcasting Council.

The letters were not in every case models of Christian charity, with some anonymous messages making open threats against members of the council.

'How dare you serve Satan and foreign interests? You will suffer!' one of the letters said, according to Polish media reports.