A leading magazine has been withdrawn from sale at branches of Poland’s post office and outlets belonging to state oil giant Orlen due to a cover featuring the late Polish Pope John Paul II with a crucified doll attached to the cross on his staff.
The image published by Nie – a left-wing satirical weekly that is strongly anti-clerical and often deliberately provocative – came in response to new reports alleging that the former pope showed neglect in dealing with priests responsible for child sex abuse.
“I have taken the decision to withdraw from all Orlen outlets the new edition of the weekly NIE, whose cover crosses all boundaries,” said Orlen’s CEO Daniel Obajtek on Tuesday. “We have room for all press titles, but there is no consent for hate speech and the destruction of the authority of Saint John Paul II.”
Podjąłem decyzję o wycofaniu ze wszystkich punktów sprzedaży Orlenu nowego wydania Tygodnika NIE, którego okładka przekracza wszelkie granice. Mamy miejsce dla wszystkich tytułów prasowych, ale nie ma zgody na mowę nienawiści i niszczenie autorytetu Świętego Jana Pawła II.
— Daniel Obajtek (@DanielObajtek) March 14, 2023
In addition to selling press at its petrol stations and other stores, Orlen owns a majority stake in newspaper distributor Ruch, which operates over 2,000 kiosks and newsagents.
On Monday, Nie had itself announced that Poczta Polska, the state post office, had ordered this week’s magazine to be withdrawn from its outlets. The following day, Pocza Polska confirmed that was the case.
“Due to calculations and business risks, we have decided to withdraw this press title, starting from the current issue,” announced the post office in a statement issued to the media.
Both Poczta Polska, which is completely state owned, and Orlen, whose largest shareholder is the state, are regarded as being under the influence of the national-conservative ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, which has vociferously rejected the latest accusations against John Paul II.
Poland’s parliament has adopted a resolution to “defend the good name of John Paul II” after a TV report suggested the late Polish pope allowed priests under his authority to continue working in the church despite knowing they had sexually abused children https://t.co/B5URQ40OAf
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) March 9, 2023
“Hello, censorship,” Nie wrote in response to Obajtek’s announcement. Press, a magazine covering the media industry, also suggested that withdrawing a specific title from sale in this manner may violate Poland’s press law.
“A distributor has no right to suspend the distribution of a newspaper due to its content,” said Marek Frąckowiak, president of the Chamber of Press Publishers. The head of the publishing house that produces Nie told Press that they were preparing legal action.
Nie itself, however, in keeping with its satirical spirit, announced that it was awarding Obajtek with its Person of the Year award for providing “the best advertisement of our magazine since its inception”.
Nie was founded in 1990 by Jerzy Urban, who had until the previous year been the main spokesman for Poland’s communist regime. Urban remained editor-in-chief and owner of the magazine’s publisher until his death last year.
[PILNE] Daniel Obajtek Człowiekiem Roku tygodnika „NIE” za najlepszą reklamę naszego pisma od początku jego istnienia.
— Tygodnik NIE (@TygodnikNIE) March 14, 2023
Main image credit: Tygodnik Nie and Babij/Flickr (under CC BY-SA 2.0)
Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.
