Polish priest apologizes for verbal attack on Poland's president

Krakow, Poland, Jul 26, 2007 / 08:29 am

A Polish priest apologized on Tuesday after calling President Lech Kaczynski a liar and his wife a witch, and making comments considered to be anti-Semitic, reported Reuters.

Fr. Tadeusz Rydzyk apologized for his comments about the president and his wife, as well as his ostensibly anti-Semitic comments.

The priest’s apology was published in the daily Gazeta Wyborcza. Fr. Rydzyk, who had also accused a "Jewish lobby" of trying to extract millions from the Polish state, wrote that he does not act against anyone on the basis of religion or race.

Audio tapes, released by a Polish magazine this month, also captured Fr. Tadeusz Rydzyk telling students of his outrage at the failure of the current presidency to toughen abortion laws.

Fr. Rydzyk is heard saying the support of the president's wife, Maria, for limited abortion rights amounts to backing euthanasia, and suggesting she should do it to herself first.

The Vatican has rebuked Fr. Rydzyk in the past for meddling in politics and for the xenophobic statements of his controversial broadcaster Radio Maryja. But Poland's conservative president and his twin brother, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the prime minister, have defended the station. The priest’s support helped them win the 2005 election.