Polish church spokesman refuses to condemn anti-Semitic incidents

Published: 2004-05-10

OXFORD, England (CNS) -- A Polish church spokesman has refused to condemn anti-Semitic incidents in the country, despite protests by leading Catholics. "Our position on anti-Semitism is clear," said Father Jozef Kloch, chief spokesman for the Polish bishops' conference. "But you can't expect us to take a stance on every occasion." Poland's Catholic bishops condemned "all forms of intolerance, racism and anti-Semitism" at a special May 2001 Mass in Warsaw. However, church leaders frequently have been criticized for failing to react to anti-Semitic statements by priests in Poland, home to around 3,000 Jews, compared to 3.5 million before the Holocaust. One priest repeatedly criticized for anti-Semitic actions and words has been Father Henryk Jankowski of St. Brygida Church in Gdansk. In mid-April, he was criticized for the church's Easter garden display, which included a false Gospel quote accusing Jews of "persecution."

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