National Pilgrimage to Rome for the 100th anniversary of the birth of Karol Wojtyła
On May 17, 2020, the National Pilgrimage to Rome will take place for the main celebration of 100th birthday anniversary of Saint John Paul II. Pope Francis will preside Solemn Mass in the Vatican – said Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, chairman of the Episcopal Conference of Poland.
Archbishop Gądecki explained why the birthday will be celebrated on May 17, so the day before the actual date of birth of Saint John Paul II. – I asked the Holy Father Francis to celebrate the Holy Mass on May 17, because it is Sunday and more people will be able to take part in the celebration – explained Archbishop Gądecki. The chairman of the episcopate invites to join the pilgrimage. – I encourage dioceses, parish communities and various communities to organize pilgrimages for the centenary of the birth of Saint John Paul II to Rome. Let’s meet on May 17 at 10.30 in Vatican for a Solemn Mass under the presiding of the Holy Father Francis – archbishop Gądecki appealed.
“Lady with an Ermine” is a real star
“Lady with an Ermine” by Leonardo da Vinci – the “star” of the Czartoryski collection – is the most valuable painting in Polish collections and a magnet that attracts lovers of Renaissance art to Krakow. But its international fame began in the interwar period.
From Friday, “Lady” will be available for viewing again in the Czartoryski Museum, which has been opened after renovation, where it has been exhibited for years. Leonardo da Vinci painted the picture around 1490. The artist portrayed Cecilia Gallerani, the 17-year-old lady of the Milan court, the mistress of Prince Lodovic Sforza. Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski in unknown circumstances bought the painting in Italy around 1800 and gave it to his mother – Princess Izabela Czartoryska née Fleming, who in 1801 opened the first public museum in Puławy. Robbed by the Germans, “Lady with an Ermine” was found at the end of the war by the Americans and placed in a depot in Munich, from where Karol Estreicher brought her to Poland by the same “treasure train”, which brought the Altar of Wit Stwosz to Krakow.
Military support for Poland
The Pentagon’s budget for 2020 includes confirmation of obligations under Article 5 of the NATO pact and a declaration of military cooperation with Poland. Budget includes military investment as well and was passed by the US Senate on Tuesday.
The plan was endorsed by most Republicans and Democrats. In the plan has been emphasized that Poland has been a valuable ally in NATO since 1999 and an important US ally. It has been stated that Polish soldiers have made a significant contribution to operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo and in the fight against Islamic State, and that Poland spends 2 percent of its GDP on defense. US President Donald Trump announced that he would sign the bill as soon as it was adopted by the US Congress. The document also supports further cooperation in the field of defense and defense investments with Poland.
Great boar hunting
The matter of mass killings of wild boars is being decided, due to the spread of African Swine Fever, which is threatening the population of pigs in Poland. The parliamentary committee on agriculture debated this matter last week.
Yesterday at a joint meeting of the Committee on Agriculture and Environmental Protection, the draft special act on facilitating the reduction of African Swine Fever was discussed, giving power to hunters from uniformed services to shoot wild boars. The Ministry of Agriculture and deputies of Law and Justice from the Committee on Agriculture explain this record with the attitude of the Polish hunting association, and as they add, the African Swine Fever threatens the production of swine in Poland.
”The matter of the fact is that the hunting association often does not reduce this population for various reasons”- says Robert Telus, Head of The Parliamentary Agriculture Committee, Law and Justice.
Dealing with boars on a massive scale raises a lot of controversy.
”Can the African Swine Fever be battled in a different way than shooting? Let the experts speak. If not, then the shooting must be carried out, but so as not to lead to the complete extinction of the species”- says Jan Filip Libicki, Senator of the Polish People’s party.
Ecological organizations and some deputies, including the Left parliamentary club, are against the shooting of wild boars.
”First of all, we must remember that since there are no biological barriers or fences for hunting, tens of thousands of swine are killed off and this is the main problem we must focus on, instead of limiting ourselves by the fact that we are not doing anything now”- says Dariusz Standerski, The Left.
According to the Minister of Agriculture, Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski, allegations are being made by the opposition towards the government because of inactivity over the last 4 years.
”I’d like to point out that in 2014 the opposition were not taking the same steps we are now and preferred to push the problem away. We are doing what we can in this matter. We have secluded the illness, which can not be said about our predecessors. In the EU we are an example of a country that was able to maintain the level of ASF. The accusations of helplessness are merely political theatre”- says Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski, Minister of Agriculture.
The Ministry of Agriculture ensures that even with a large reduction in the population of boars, it grows so fast that there is no risk of extinction of boars. The special act will require changes to the acts on forests, construction law, hunting law, the law on arms and ammunition, as well as crisis management.
Wislostrada closed
Warsaw’s main traffic artery, the Wislostrada, is blocked. From yesterday morning, serious congestion of traffic clogged the central river road — one of the most travelled of Warsaw thoroughfares – after a cavity under the road was discovered, posing a potential serious threat to drivers, if the road collapses.
Road workers decided to close the exit towards Żoliborz and Wilanów. At 9 am the entry from Wisłostrada onto the Poniatowski bridge from Wilanów and Żoliborz was excluded from traffic. An empty space has been detected under the roadway, which poses a risk of road collapse. The entrance to the bridge was closed in emergency mode. There is no aggregate in the detected void which needs to be filled. Karolina Gałecka, spokesman for the City Roads Authority, stated that the work on the road will be finished as soon as possible. Unfortunately, drivers can thus expect very large difficulties.
Nord Stream sanctions
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is being built under the Baltic sea to deliver 100 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas to Germany annually. Poland opposes it and the United States Senate passed bill imposing sanctions on companies involved in building Nord Stream 2.
Two days before voting, the Coalition of Polish Americans appealed to US senators to pass these sanctions. The info is on the coalitionpa.org website and on Twitter https://twitter.com/CoalitionOfPA/status/1204594105067589634:
“As an organization representing Polish Americans we are concerned that Nord Stream 2 would exacerbate the dependence of several European countries on Russian gas exports and would diminish the energy security of Poland and Europe. We strongly support passage of these provisions.”
The bill passed by the US Senate will target pipe laying companies based in Western Europe. Among such is the Dutch-Swiss company Allseas that works off the Danish island of Bornholm. The sanctions would require the U.S. Secretary of State to issue a report within 60 days on vessels that are engaging in pipe-laying for the Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream pipelines. If a company is listed in the reports, it would then be blacklisted by Washington unless the president determined the company was winding down the operations. The president could also waive the sanctions based on national security considerations.
If completed Nord Stream 2, led by state-owned Gazprom, would allow Russia to bypass Poland and Ukraine to deliver gas under the Baltic Sea to Germany. U.S. lawmakers say Ukraine could lose billions of dollars in transit fees if it is built and that it would increase Russia’s political grip on Europe.
Washington has touted exports of U.S. liquefied natural gas, or LNG, to provide Europe with alternatives to gas pipelines from Russia.
Arrests in the case of the tragedy in Szczyrk
A December 4th explosion that killed 8 people in the southern city of Szczyrk has resulted in the detention of three people. Their arrest was ordered by the Bielsko-Biała district prosecutor’s office.
The Prosecutor’s Office has informed that the chairman of the construction company responsible for the development, Roman D. as well as employees Marcin S. and Jozef D. have been arrested. The accused will answer charges of violating article 163 of the Criminal Code, that is causing a fire in and collapsing a building. They three men face up to 12 years imprisonment. A family of eight, four adults and four children, died in the explosion.
Total negation
Street protests continue in a dozen Polish cities against court reform. The Law and Justice party is introducing a new bill to restructure the common courts. The bill’s first reading in parliament will be scheduled tomorrow. Law and Justice proposed reform runs counter to parliamentary opposition as well as a concentration of judges.
”We are witnessing chaos in the judicial system. The government, the ruling party, are only making things worse. We do not see their actions as attempts to heal the system, nor to fix it. It looks more and more like they aim to take control over the judicial branch, make it political, and silence the judges. They break the rules of Polish and European laws. Today’s opinion of the Parliamentary Analysis Office is devastating for them”- says Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Chairman of Polish People’s party.
”Our opinion coincides with the opinion of the Parliamentary Analysis Office. Corrections to the draft bill will take into account all those findings and suggestions. We want to make sure that there will be no doubt the final text of the bill complies with the Polish constitution and laws of the European Union”- says Kamil Bortniczuk, Agreement party.
”There are always corrections to the first draft of the bill and I am sure this is true in this case. As far as the bill’s merits are concerned, I think that the bill is good”- says Marek Ast, Law and Justice party.
”Probably tomorrow, the lower house will start the bill’s proceeding with a first reading and most likely we will hear the first jabs from opposition MPs. The final decision whether to place this issue on the agenda, will be made tomorrow morning by the Speakers Committee of the lower house of parliament, the Sejm”- says Aleksandra Zarzycka, TV Republika.
