“Insulting or ridiculing church” to be jailable crime under bill supported by Polish justice minister

Anyone who “publicly insults or ridicules the church” could be jailed for up to two years under a proposed law submitted to parliament by one of the parties in Poland’s national-conservative ruling coalition. The measure has been supported by almost 400,000 signatures gathered from the public in less than three months.

“We live in a time of increasing aggression towards people who have the will and courage to admit their faith,” said Zbigniew Ziobro, the justice minister and leader of United Poland (Solidarna Polska), the party that has submitted the legislation.

“In order to fully implement freedom of religion…it is necessary to amend the criminal code, which today insufficiently guarantees the protection of believers,” he added.

In Poland, it is already a criminal offence, punishable by up to two years in prison, to “offend the religious feelings of other people by publicly insulting an object of religious worship or a place intended for the public performance of religious rites”.

That blasphemy law has been increasingly used under Poland’s current government. But United Poland argues that it does not go far enough, and earlier this year declared its support for measures to toughen the law, including prison sentences of up to three years.

After not receiving the support of the main ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS), United Poland instead decided to submit the proposal as a so-called citizens’ legislative initiative, notes legal news website Prawo.pl.

Such initiatives must be considered by parliament if they receive 100,000 supporting signatures from the public. United Poland’s legislation – titled “In defence of the freedom of Christians” – gathered 380,000 between early July and the moment it was submitted to parliament this week.

It would broaden the blasphemy law by removing the requirement of proof that somebody had been offended or for the insult to have been against a place or object of worship. Anyone who “publicly insults or ridicules the church or other regulated religious association, their dogmas and rituals”, could be jailed for up to two years, reports Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.

The same penalty could be imposed on anyone who “publicly insults an object of religious worship or a place intended for the public performance of religious rites”. The legislation also introduces protections from prosecution for speech expressing religious beliefs.

“We don’t want Poland to be like other countries, where pastors are taken to court just for recalling the fundamental rule that a family is the union of a man and a woman, and not of people of the same sex,” said deputy justice minister Marcin Warchoł.

Ziobro said this week that he would speak with the speaker of parliament, Elżbieta Witek, to ask for work on the proposed law to begin “as soon as possible”.

PiS spokesman Radosław Fogiel told the Polish Press Agency (PAP) this week that the proposed law “is in line with the values we share” and “we appreciate the involvement of our colleagues from United Poland”. He added that the bill would be processed in the same way as any other citizens’ initiative.

The legislation has already drawn strong opposition from The Left (Lewica), the second-largest opposition group in parliament. It would “prohibit criticism of the church and its representatives”, warned one of its MPs, Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus, this week.

“If this amendment enters into force, anyone who, for example, places [the Virgin] Mary in an [LGBT] rainbow halo…[or] makes a meme of [Pope] John Paul II…will be punished with two years in prison,” she said. “Anyone who protests in a church, as my husband and I did, will be sentenced to two years in prison.”

Since 2020, Ziobro has been seeking to have Scheuring-Wielgus stripped of her parliamentary immunity in order to face charges of offending religious feelings and maliciously obstructing a religious act for protesting in a church against Poland’s near-total abortion ban.

Last year, three Polish LGBT activists faced trial on charges of offending religious feelings for adding rainbow colours to the halos of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. The court found them not guilty, but prosecutors appealed. They were found not guilty again in January this year, but are facing a further appeal by the authorities.

Last month, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the blasphemy conviction of Polish pop star Doda – who received a fine, as most offenders do, rather than a jail sentence – had violated her right to freedom of expression.

Main image credit: PiotrCieplucha/Twitter

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.