Critical television coverage of the contentious Catholic priest and media figure Tadeusz Rydzyk has again resulted in a fine from the state National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) regulator.
KRRiT President Maciej Świrski, who was appointed by the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, said public broadcaster TVP had made “completely false” claims about Rydzyk, particularly surrounding the financing of a museum dedicated to preserving the legacy of Polish pope John Paul II.
He added that the TVP documentary containing these claims also featured “slander and incitement to hatred based on prejudice against religion.”
The 145,000 zloty (€33,690) fine is subject to appeal. Krzysztof Brejza, from liberal prime minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Platform (PO) party, complained the “PiS-controlled KRRiT” had allowed “ideology to win over common sense and facts.”
Świrski i opanowana przez PiS KRRiTV nakłada na TVP 145 tys. zł kary za reportaż o imperium o. Rydzyka. Powód? Skargi "ze środowiska Radia Maryja". To jest ten stan kiedy ideologia wygrywa ze zdrowym rozsądkiem i faktami..
Brussels also has a long history of working to limit the influence of Rydzyk. As far back as 2007, the European Commission was making efforts to ensure that EU funds—so often wasted on the most ludicrous schemes—never made their way into the priest’s media academy in Poland. MEPs were also panicked when he was later invited to attend the European Parliament.
This latest fine is similar to another issued by KRRiT late last year, that time to Poland’s largest private—U.S.-owned—television station. Świrski said the channel’s documentary on Rydzyk “incited hatred and discrimination” and fined it 142,800 zloty (€32,883).
Michael Curzon is a news writer for europeanconservative.com based in England’s Midlands. He is also Editor of Bournbrook Magazine, which he founded in 2019, and previously wrote for London’s Express Online. His Twitter handle is @MichaelCurzon_.
