More “people killed by abortion” than dying in war, warns Polish Catholic shrine

Poland’s most important Catholic shrine has stirred controversy by announcing that more “people are killed as a result of abortion” than are dying in war. Meanwhile, a leading anti-abortion group has been handing out leaflets to Ukrainian refugees at the border warning them that “abortion is the greatest threat to peace”.

On Saturday, Jasna Góra monastery in Częstochowa, which is home to the venerated Black Madonna icon, announced on social media that it had hosted a pilgrimage of pro-life activists.

“Although the war takes a tragic toll and the number of victims continues to increase, the most people are killed as a result of abortion,” tweeted the monastery alongside images of the pilgrimage.

“Despite the experience of the cruelty of war, the world still divides children into ‘wanted’ and ‘unwanted’,” said Wojciech Zięba, president of the Polish Association of the Defenders of Human Life, quoted by the Catholic Information Agency (KAI).

“One cannot demand one justice while neglecting another justice that does not exist. There is no justice towards the unborn in Ukraine and in Russia…in Europe and in the world,” added Father Tomasz Kancelarczyk, head of the Little Feet Foundation. “[When] we stop feeling the value of life, it will be our war and our death.”

In a homily to the pilgrims, Wacław Depo, the archbishop of Częstochowa, declared that, “despite the ongoing war in Ukraine and the threats in Poland and the world, we must not be enslaved by fears about the future and lose hope in the face of planned de-Christianisation and depopulation”.

Jasna Góra’s tweet attracted hundreds of comments, many of them critical. “It’s disgusting to say such things at a time like this,” wrote one user. “Shame, huge shame.”

Other responses, however, were positive. “Nobody denies the suffering of Ukraine and the victims, but there are actually more abortions every year,” wrote one commenter, who noted that tens of millions of abortions take place worldwide annually.

The monastery has not responded to the controversy, but did subsequently post a number of tweets expressing support for Ukraine, including one showing that a Greek Catholic service in Ukrainian had taken place at the monastery on Sunday.

During the pilgrimage, Zięba also claimed that, when refugees from Ukraine arrive in Poland, “one of the first things that is offered to them after crossing the border is the abortion of their own child”.

While there is no evidence of such information being given to refugees on arrival, some women’s rights groups have been publishing advice to refugees from Ukraine – where abortion is available on demand – about access to terminations in Poland, where the law is one of the most restrictive in Europe.

“Why are we talking about the need for abortion when there is a war?” wrote activist group Abortion Dream Team before explaining that war and the displacement it causes can be a reason for people to terminate pregnancies. They also note that sexual violence occurs more often during armed conflicts.

In response, the Life and Family Foundation – which is run by Poland’s most prominent anti-abortion activist, Kaja Godek – condemned the “incredible perfidy of abortionists…who propose to women fleeing from war help in killing their children”.

The foundation has been handing out leaflets in Ukrainian to refugees at the border telling them that, if anyone suggests getting an abortion, they should report it to the police.

“Abortion is the greatest threat to peace,” read the flyer, quoting Mother Teresa alongside graphic images of aborted foetuses. “If a mother is allowed to kill her own child, what will stop you or me from killing each other?”

Main image credit: Grzegorz Skowronek / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.