Polish bishop delivers thinly veiled anti-Semitic sermon
Andrzej Jeż appears to refer to Jews during Easter speech, saying ‘certain nation’ plotted in 1937 to slander Catholic Church by controlling media
Cnaan Liphshiz is The Times of Israel's Jewish World reporter
KRAKOW, Poland (JTA) — A Polish bishop said that “a certain nation” plotted in 1937 to divide and slander the Catholic Church by controlling the media.
Andrzej Jeż, who is the top Catholic spiritual leader in the city of Tarnow near Krakow, appeared to be referring to Jews last month in his Easter sermon, which was filmed.
The video aired Thursday in an article by the Kan public broadcaster.
“A certain nation, I can’t name it because I would be attacked from all sides immediately, said this: ‘Our natural enemy is the Catholic Church. We need to slander them and sow hatred against them, we have to create scandals about their private lives to incite hatred and ridicule against them. We must strengthen our media because then our control will be strong and secure’,” Jez said.
ההגמון של העיר טארנוב שבדרום פולין ציטט מתוך מאמר אנטישמי שהאשים את היהודים כי זממו לסכסך בין הנוצרים: "עלינו לזרוק בהם השמצות ושנאה. עלינו לעורר שערוריות ביחס לחייהם הפרטיים על מנת לעורר בעיני כל שנאה וגיחוך כלפיהם". חשיפתו של דב גיל-הר ב-#חדשותהערב pic.twitter.com/uGEqooFJa3
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 2, 2019
Michael Schudrich, the chief rabbi of Poland, said the remarks underscore an internal fight within the Catholic Church between supporters and opponents of that institution’s reform about 50 years ago of its anti-Semitic tenets.
“I’ve never heard anything like this said,” Schudrich told Kan. “What the bishop said goes against modern-day Catholic faith.”
Schudrich also said that the sermon shows “there is a problem that needs addressing inside the Catholic Church” in Poland, one of the European countries where the Catholic Church enjoys the highest levels of influence.
