Polish pro-abortion leader urges 'revolt' against Church, amid Mass interruptions and protests

CNA Staff, Nov 2, 2020 / 16:54 pm

A leader of Poland's pro-abortion movement urged Catholics to oppose the Catholic Church's opposition to abortion in the country, even suggesting the possibility of vandalism or other attacks on Catholic churches.

"Dear Catholics, at the moment, you have a chance to oppose your church. At the moment, you partake in what is going on, in this disgusting stuff the Church is doing. And this is the final warning, because you should revolt, your communities, you - engaged in the life of the church," Marta Lempart said during an Oct. 26 interview with Poland's Radio ZET.

Lempart, 41, is a leader of Strajk Kobiet, a group organizing protests across Poland that began Oct. 22, after the country's constitutional court ruled that a law permitting abortion for fetal abnormalities was unconstitutional. The ruling, which cannot be appealed, could lead to a significant reduction in the number of abortions in the country.

Protests have focused on Catholic churches, because of the Church's opposition to abortion in the country.

When journalist Beata Lubecka suggested during the Oct. 26 interview that protestors should not enter churches or damage them, Lempart disagreed.

"Of course you should do that. You should do what you feel, what you think, what is effective and what they deserve," she said.

Videos post on social media show protesters interrupting Sunday Masses while holding signs supporting abortion. They have also left graffiti on church property, vandalized a statue of St. John Paul II, and chanted slogans at clergy, as well as blocking roads and bridges.

In response to the protests, Polish President Andrzej Duda said Oct. 30 that he would propose a bill permitting abortion in cases of fatal fetal abnormality.

Abortion would also continue to remain legal in cases of rape, incest, and risk to the mother's life.

Catholics in Poland have organized the "Rosary to the Gates of Heaven" initiative, which takes place Nov. 1-8, and aims to unite thousands of people around the world in prayer for unborn children.

Organizers said that Catholics could join the initiative on any day by reciting a series of prayers, including the rosary, at a cemetery, roadside cross, or parish, or at home.

On the initiative's website, the organizers wrote: "The consequences of killing the unborn children become more and more visible and affect us more and more."

"By this atonement prayer we want to make reparation to God for the sin of abortion and reward the suffering of unborn children. We want to save Poland and the world from the consequences of this sin."