Catholic churches in Poland are facing increased pressure after a week of protests against the country’s ban on abortion stirred up animosity toward the faith.
The ban that was issued last week by Poland’s equivalent of the Supreme Court prohibits abortions when the fetus is expected to be born with physical defects, which up to that point had been virtually the only still-legal abortion procedure in the conservative country. The ban is supported by the Law and Justice party, which holds the most power in Poland, as well as the Catholic Church, which opposes abortion.
Throughout the past week, protesters in many Polish cities took to the streets in opposition to the ban. Much of the ire was directed at Catholic churches. Videos show people entering churches during Mass, holding signs, and chanting at priests and congregants. In one notable instance, women dressed as handmaids from Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, disrupted Mass and vandalized the Lodz Cathedral.
In another instance, more than 7,000 protesters swarmed outside Katowice Cathedral and chanted, “This is war” and “Human law, not ecclesiastical law.” Polish news outlets reported that police tear-gassed the crowd after it became violent.
Throughout nearly every major city in Poland, people have gone on strike, organized protests, and sprayed demands for abortion access onto churches. The message on one sign, which went viral, read, “I wish I could abort my government.” In a suburb of Warsaw, protesters dumped red paint on a statue of Pope John Paul II, who is considered a national hero.
Law and Justice party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski on Wednesday condemned the protesters as “criminals” seeking to “destroy the Polish nation.” Catholic bishops in the country also spoke out against the violence, calling the vandalism and intrusions on priests celebrating Masses “disturbing.”
“The actions of the protesters who destroy monuments, church facades, and interrupt the Masses celebrated there are extremely painful and condemned,” said Archbishop Wojciech Polak in a statement.
Poland is one of the most socially conservative countries in Europe, marked particularly for its strong Catholic presence, highlighted by the fact that John Paul II was instrumental in ending communist power in the country. Widespread public outcry against the church is rare, but in the past few years, it has been growing over the abortion issue.
The country joined the United States and more than 30 other countries last week in signing a nonbinding anti-abortion pact. It affirms that there is “no international right to abortion,” a policy point that President Trump’s administration has consistently pushed throughout his tenure.
Polish law still makes exceptions for abortion in the cases of rape, incest, and the health of the mother. There were about 1,000 legal abortions in Poland last year, according to Statista. The country has the strictest abortion restrictions of any wealthy nation.
