Man to face trial in Poland for offending religious feelings by placing “blasphemous notes” in church

A man will face trial for offending religious feelings – a crime in Poland that carries a prison sentence of up to two years – for carrying out regular protests in Białystok Cathedral that included leaving “blasphemous” notes and allegedly spitting on a cross.

In February, police were contacted by the cathedral’s parish priest, who said that, since the beginning of the year, the man had been coming to the church and carrying out actions that offended religious feelings and insulted objects of religious worship.

Before services, he left notes on the pews, pulpit and altar containing “blasphemous inscriptions”. When police arrived at the cathedral, they caught him in the act of doing so.

According to the police, witnesses also say that he spat on a cross and threw a missal – a book containing instructions for conducting mass – to the ground, reports broadcaster RMF.

“He indicated that he is an atheist and emphasises that his behaviour was intended to repay God for what had happened to him in his life,” said prosecutor Marek Winnicki while announcing the indictment against the man. A court is due to hear the case in September.

In the meantime, the man has been banned from entering the cathedral and is under police supervision, reports the Gazeta Wyborcza daily.

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Under Poland’s criminal code, it is a jailable offence to “offend the religious feelings of other persons by publicly insulting an object of religious worship or a place designated for the public performance of religious rites”.

The law was used increasingly often during the rule of the national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party between 2015 and 2023, including against LGBT+ activists, protesters against a near-total abortion ban, and an opposition MP.

However, the current case was brought under the new, more liberal coalition government that took office in December last year. One of its members, The Left (Lewica), has called for abolishing the crime of offending religious feelings.

Main image credit: Dominik Pyrek / Diecezja Sosnowiecka (under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

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.