“We must fight much more vigorously for the freedom of the Church. We can no longer agree to everything. These two cases in Poland—this cries out to heaven for vengeance. It is a brutal violation of the law. Priests are being treated as if they were being tortured,” said Cardinal Gerhard Müller, former Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in an interview with Biały Kruk. The clergyman criticized Donald Tusk’s government, speaking openly about the increasingly difficult situation of Catholics in Poland.
Approximately 180 cardinals from around the world have already arrived in Rome for the General Congregations. Among them are more than 130 electors who, starting Wednesday, will participate in the conclave.
In the Vatican – on Tusk
A few days before the start of the conclave, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, former Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, spoke with the editorial board of Biały Kruk. The interview addressed not only the upcoming papal election but also the difficult situation faced by Christians around the world—including in Poland. Strong words were directed toward Donald Tusk’s government, including references to “torture” against priests.
“Christians are persecuted by the media, and at times even priests face pressure from governments or are confronted with outright injustice. All of this takes place under the lofty banner of ‘democracy,’ but in reality, these situations are not so different from what Lukashenko does,”
said Cardinal Müller.
Referring to incidents that occurred directly in Poland—such as the arrest of Father Michał Olszewski on Good Friday or the transportation of another priest across the country for interrogation—the cardinal remarked:
“Yes, perhaps in our case it does not directly concern priests, but in Germany too, it happens that police conduct searches at six in the morning at the homes of hundreds of people—destroying everything, devastating apartments, and treating individuals like the worst criminals. All because, at some point, they posted something critical online or were somewhat insolent toward a politician. And the reasons are utterly trivial. We are no longer living in the German Empire, where insulting the majesty was punishable, nor in Hitler’s era, when saying ‘we are losing the war’ or ‘Hitler is an idiot’ could get you killed, imprisoned, or sent to Dachau—a concentration camp—for the slightest criticism of the party.”
“Treating priests as if they were being tortured”
He continues: “Today, such mechanisms are reappearing, only now they are called ‘democracy.’ More and more cardinals are beginning to notice that democracy in Europe is disintegrating. Courts are no longer independent but ideologically driven. The police, the judiciary, parliaments, and governments are acting above the law and justice. If someone agrees with their ideology—they can do as they please. But if someone thinks differently and does the same thing—they are mercilessly pursued by the media and state institutions. This must be clearly opposed. We must fight much more strongly for the freedom of the Church. We can no longer accept everything. These two cases in Poland—this cries out to heaven for vengeance. It is a brutal violation of the law. Priests are being treated as if they were being tortured.”
“It reminds me of the times when John Paul II—and many others—were surveilled during the communist era, imprisoned, and Cardinal Wyszyński was sent into exile. I have the impression that we are slowly returning to those times,”
adds Cardinal Müller.
The cleric also spoke of what he had heard from his interlocutors in Poland. Again, strong—yet, in his view, truthful—words were directed toward the current government:
“In Poland, I have already heard people saying: ‘The new government is finally acting decisively.’ It is always this ‘decisive action’—but whether the government is new or old, it must still uphold law and justice, and not act in a dictatorial manner. I’ve heard statements like: ‘PiS threatened democracy, so now we have the right to restore democracy by anti-democratic means.’ People saying such things often do not even realize that what they are saying is pure logical nonsense. These are empty propaganda slogans that are logically self-contradictory. One cannot achieve good through evil means. That is a fundamental principle of any ethics.”