TOP NEWS
Premiere of a new book!
This month, a new book by the Pod Prąd (Against the Tide) publishing house – "Wygrałem z księdzem pedofilem” (I won with a pedophile priest) - premiered. It is an interview with Bartłomiej Pankowiak, aggrieved by a pedophile priest. In a frank conversation with Kornelia Chojecka, Bartłomiej explains: how he managed to win against a pedophile priest, why today he no longer feels like a victim, and what impact his departure from the Catholic Church had on his faith.
Bartłomiej Pankowiak is one of the few people in Poland who reported a case of harassment to the prosecutor's office before the age of 30. On October 15, an appeal hearing was held in the trial of Fr. Arkadiusz H. in the District Court in Kalisz, which postponed the case. On October 28, judge Marek Bajger dismissed the case of father Arkadiusz H., stating that it was time-barred, and let the pedophile priest go free.
This is how Bartłomiej commented on the court's decision on Against the Tide TV: "Yet once again, we see the behavior of Polish law enforcement agencies, which show that they are making fun of us. On the one hand, I could say that this is a scandal, but I am tired of all this. (...) I treat the information we obtained from the court in Kalisz as a stupid joke. Once again, the victims and I were humiliated."
The verdict of the Kalisz court was also commented by pastor Paweł Chojecki: "This is a defeat of the Polish state. (...) I am also fed up with such a country in which the executioners laugh in the face of the victims. I do not want to live here. There is no justice here. (...) We might have lost today in this court and with this country, but there are always tactical defeats on the way to victory. (...) We have to admit we are having these feelings, but we also have to pull it together – we go on and do our own thing every day."
With att. Artur Nowak and Mariusz Milewski, president of the Fundacja Powiemy Wszystkim (We Will Tell Everyone Foundation), we talked about what to do so that such cases do not expire and the courts do not release criminals. We also discussed the verdict of the court in Kalisz and the operation of the Polish justice system.
Mariusz Milewski appealed on our television: "This is a disgrace for the Polish justice system, for Minister Ziobro, who is stern about everything else, but lets priests go free. I am appalled and appeal to Minister Ziobro for a change in the law. (...) Just put the statute of limitations in order at last – it will be a voice for the victims."
Everything that we have achieved so far has been possible thanks to God’s blessing, thanks to the generosity and support of our viewers, and thanks to the hard work of a talented and well-coordinated team.
We are not paid by any means by the government, political parties, corporations, or any other groups and therefore, we can work completely independently and achieve such success in reaching Poles with the truth.
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WHAT ELSE:
We started the #BartekNiePoddawajSię (Bartłomiej, don't give up) action
This is a reaction to the decision of the District Court in Kalisz, which discontinued the proceedings in the case of priest Arkadiusz H. The action is aimed at supporting Bartłomiej Pankowiak and showing that the victims of pedophile priests are not alone and have support in the society which does not accept and does not agree that the perpetrators should go unpunished. We encourage everyone to take part in this action and send their photos with the hashtag #BartekNiePoddawajSię to the address [email protected]
Hong Kong journalist: Politicians celebrating the Beijing Olympics will be complicit in the actions of the Chinese Communists!
We talked to Frances Hui, a journalist and activist from Hong Kong, the founder of We The Hongkongers, an initiative associating Hongkongers in the USA. She presented the current situation in Hong Kong, the reasons for her emigration to the USA, and also referred to the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022: "The world has to wake up. We see the face of China, we see that they’re lying every single time. And they never put up their promise to the world. And all they’re trying to do is to destroy harmony and freedom in the world. And I don’t think this is the spirit of the Olympics. We say that China has no right, and it does not deserve to hold an Olympic Games. We are not against the Olympics. We are against a country that actively practices genocide against their people, a country that actively destroys freedom in the world."
We also talked to Päivi Räsänen, a former Finnish interior minister who faces imprisonment for publishing a photo with a Bible passage about homosexuality. She spoke about her trial and the reactions to it among the Finnish and international community. She also referred to the court case against the Polish state TV, won by the New Covenant Church in Lublin. Päivi Räsänen also spoke about her Christian mission, about the hope placed in God, and about what church-state relations should look like in a just country. The former minister encouraged people to act by their conscience and faith and to exercise their right to freedom of expression. [Film]
Lithuanian politician: Poland should develop relations with Taiwan!
Matas Maldekis – Member of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania, Chairman of the Lithuanian Parliamentary Group on Relations with Taiwan – explained the reasons why Lithuania wants to develop closer economic cooperation with Taiwan: "When we are talking about output, I always look at the long-term. For me, the long-term is what happens in the Czech Republic. In the Czech Republic, we have 4,000 jobs created by Chinese investors, and 24, 000 jobs created by Taiwanese businesses. (...) China never invests money. They just play political games in that country. Let's take Greece. They have investments in their ports. And what did they have in the end? They have 50,000 Chinese people coming to the ports and walking there. And they got no investment per se. Greece has just one problem – a strategic and economic problem of having the Chinese there. They lost their sovereignty as it is."
Czech politician of the victorious SPOLU party: Election result great for the Czech Republic!
Pavel Novotný, a politician of the SPOLU coalition, winner of the October elections, commented for us the results of the parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic. He expressed great joy with the outgoing Prime Minister Andrej Babiš being removed from power and that the Communist Party, for the first time since 1946, will not sit in parliament. He also confirmed that Ondřej Kolář, who has been on our television many times, is being selected as Foreign Minister. Novotný also commented on the subject of Czech-Polish relations in the context of the Turów case.
We are asking more and more bold questions about the role of John Paul II in the case of sexual scandals – Marcin Gutowski in Against the Tide TV
Who created the "purple network", who is behind its activity, did John Paul II know about pedophile scandals during his pontificate, and where are his files – we covered these questions with Marcin Gutowski, the author of the reportage "Purple Network". "The Purple Network is a system of social, institutional, professional, and ecclesiastical connections between important hierarchs of the Polish Catholic Church. This system has been created over the last decades" - Gutowski explained in a discussion on our TV.
Journalism workshops
In October, we organized journalistic workshops aimed at training future editorial staff.
WHAT’S NEW:
As part of the Biblical University of Lublin, we are starting a new academic year. The following courses will be taught.
- basic course,
- Christian life,
- the history of the Church,
- "Sharpening the vision of the Church" - levels 1 and 2,
- the foundations of family life,
- course "How to Study the Bible".
WHAT WE ARE WORKING ON:
- We have started working on a new documentary about Pope John Paul II.
Each subsequent month is a hard fight to achieve all our goals. We have ambitious plans for the future. The achievement of these goals largely depends on your commitment and your contribution to supporting the Against the Tide project.