Just days before Christmas, masked police officers, acting on the orders of the allegedly illegal National Prosecutor’s Office, stormed the Dominican Monastery in Lublin. Their mission? To search for MP Marcin Romanowski, even though it was already known that he had received political asylum in Hungary.
“They even enter monasteries, sacred places that should remain inviolate. This is how communists acted. It was the communists who fought against the Church. Now they’re doing the same,” commented Joanna Borowiak, a Law and Justice (PiS) MP, in an interview with Niezalezna.pl.
Searching for Romanowski in the Monastery
On December 19, just a few days before Christmas, the allegedly illegal National Prosecutor’s Office ordered a forceful raid on the Dominican Monastery of St. Stanislaus in Lublin. The authorities claimed that Marcin Romanowski was hiding there, even though the politician was already in Hungary, where he had been granted political asylum.
Details of the operation were outlined in a statement from the Lawyers for Poland Association, which expressed outrage over the incident. The information was also confirmed by the Dominican Provincial, who announced plans to file a complaint with the National Prosecutor’s Office over the actions conducted at the monastery.
“This Is What Communists Did”
Niezalezna.pl sought a response from Joanna Borowiak, an MP from the Law and Justice party, about the situation. She did not hide her indignation over the actions taken by the authorities, drawing a comparison to historical anti-Church tactics.
“This situation shows that the current government crosses all boundaries. In my opinion, this is just about creating the illusion that something is being done. The truth is that the December 13 coalition [referring to the current ruling coalition] focuses solely on political vendettas. These ‘settlements’ achieve nothing because there is nothing to hold the Law and Justice government accountable for,” she stated.
She continued: “When a government fails to address the current needs of Poles, as we’re seeing now, it resorts to empty gestures.”
Borowiak argued that the December 13 coalition is primarily concerned with retaining power, adding, “And Poles can see this.”
“They even enter monasteries, sacred places that should remain inviolate. This is how communists acted. It was the communists who fought against the Church. Now they’re doing the same thing, as we see happening in Warsaw,” she said.
Borowiak also criticized Rafał Trzaskowski, Deputy Chairman of the Civic Platform and Donald Tusk’s deputy, for his alleged advocacy for removing crosses from public offices. Reports had surfaced that civil servants were prohibited from having religious symbols, specifically crosses, at their desks or workplaces.
A Call to Tusk’s Coalition
She continued: “Today, we see that amidst rampant inflation and skyrocketing holiday shopping bills, while Poles are receiving ever-higher utility bills, the Minister of Justice orders such actions to divert attention.”
“Why are they doing this? To appease the Civic Platform electorate? To show, right before Christmas, that this government is doing something – holding someone accountable? We know very well that those investigative commissions that were supposed to uncover something found nothing. They consumed enormous amounts of money without producing results because there were no scandals. There’s nothing to settle,” the MP stated.
In conclusion, Borowiak issued an appeal to the current government: “Focus on solving the real, pressing problems of Poles, problems that you yourselves have created.”