Radio Maryja

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File:RadioMaryjaSign.jpg

Signs such as this one in Łagów used to be a common sight in rural Poland, indicating the local frequency of the station. Currently the station broadcasts on numerous FM frequencies in Poland, via satellite and the Internet. In the past this Catholic station was also aired on shortwave from Russia.

The Radio Maryja headquarters are housed in a modern building amid gardens on the outskirts of Toruń. The complex is fenced and monitored.

Radio Maryja is a Polish religious, nationalist, conservative, anti-post-communists radio station and media group, describing itself as Catholic and patriotic, founded in Toruń, Poland, on December 9, 1991 and run since its inception by the Reverend Father Director Tadeusz Rydzyk CSsR. It readily backed the victorious Law and Justice party and the Kaczyński twins during the parliamentary and presidential elections in Poland in 2005 , and was long a key pillar of support for the resulting coalition government. The station has been criticized by both Polish post-communist and international media, notably for perceived misconceived patriotism, the use of Catholicism as a political tool, and falsely accused of the promotion of conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic propaganda. The Episcopate of Poland has warned Radio Maryja about 'political broadcasting', with Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz of Kraków and the country's Primate, Cardinal Józef Glemp urging fellow Roman Catholic church leaders to take immediate action. Dziwisz made his remarks at a meeting of Polish hierarchy in July 2007, adding that the station threatens the unity of Polish Catholicism. Howerer, the bishops were divided over whether to take action against the station which has considerable influence among its primary audience of the elderly rural poor. A political and religious movement led by the Father Director is called the Radio Maryja Family. The name "Maryja" assumed by the group, is a traditional form of the name "Mary", referring to Mary, mother of Jesus by the Polish Roman Catholic community. Critics say that numerous scandals sparked by Radio Maryja have abused the authority of the Catholic Church in Poland.

Programming schedule

Radio Maryja's programming consists of a political and religious news service (several times daily), frequent recitals of the Rosary, breviary, Chaplet of Divine Mercy, the unction to the Black Madonna of Częstochowa, discussions on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, daily transmission of the Holy Mass or of the Pope's pilgrimages, and sociological and political programs such as "A Program for Farmers" or "Unfinished Conversations" when every listener can call in and express their opinions on air without censorship. Recorded broadcasts of the station are filed on many internet sites, for example: 1) web site of Jerzy Nowak of Radio Maryja, 2) Radio Maryja broadcasts - "strange and interesting programme fragments", and some on 3) the Radio Maryja official web page. A slogan frequently repeated on Radio Maryja is: "Radio Maryja - The Catholic Voice in Your Home", or "A Catholic Voice in Your Home".

Ownership and finances

The radio station is owned by the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Warsaw Province), and is financed through donations from its audience - "The Radio Maryja Family", unlike most Polish broadcasters which are either publicly funded or depend on advertising revenue. Due to a concordat with the Vatican that grants certain privileges to the Church, Radio Maryja is not bound by any accounting rules. Therefore Radio Maryja does not disclose the exact sources of its financing, nor of any of its enterprises, and does not pay taxes. As revealed by Radio Maryja, it is generously supported by Jan Kobylański (a Uruguay-based millionaire, who was reportedly prevented from entering the US due to his alleged wartime collaboration with the Nazis, and is closely linked to the operator of Radio Maryja). The station was also funded by Edward Moskal, the antisemitic chairman of the American Polish Congress.

Radio Maryja raised millions of Polish zlotys from donors to save the historical shipyard in Gdańsk (where Solidarity was founded). The shipyard did not receive the money, however, as Father Rydzyk's associate lost millions of Polish zlotys on the stock market .

Audience

Radia Maryja's audience is reputed to consist largely of elderly, rural listeners . The station claims that it has "millions of listeners", but market research usually shows lower numbers: approx. 1.2 million people daily. The audience peaked in 1998 and was estimated to be around 2 million listeners. The station estimates that it is listened to by well over 10% of adults in Poland; the most comprehensive market research by Radio Track for the whole of Poland (June-July 2005) shows a 2.5% "share of listening time", and this may or may not be in agreement with the 10% figure. A March 15, 2007 Economist article summarized that "The church in Poland is divided between Vatican loyalists, who often oppose close involvement in politics, and energetic dissidents linked to Radio Maryja, a hardline broadcaster. This once had huge clout, articulating the feelings of Poles alienated by the country's brisk, materialist business culture and the decay in moral norms. But Radio Maryja's audience has shrunk in the past decade to no more than 2% of all current listeners." Radio Maryja is one of several Catholic media outlets in Poland.

Radio Maryja Family

The Reverend Rydzyk has gathered a large group of committed followers, the Radio Maryja Family (Rodzina Radia Maryja), to which he is, unquestionably, a charismatic authority. Many supporters of Radio identify themselves with this movement which its opponents call "the army of mohair berets", a pejorative and satirical expression. As of November 2006, The Radio Maryja Family network had 600 clubs and offices across Poland. The movement holds a pilgrimage to Częstochowa every year, which in 2006 attracted about 200,000. These pilgrimages help to recruit members because in Poland the cult of Mary (mother of Jesus) is particularly strong. Representatives of the Radio Maryja Family also visited the Vatican five times during the papacy of John Paul II. These visits are continuously spotlighted on the Radio Maryja web page alongside political articles. Father Director and his organization have dealt with politics and have strongly supported the conservative party PiS and its leaders, the Kaczynski brothers, though not without criticising them. It is the position of Radio Maryja that Catholic voters should support candidates who uphold Catholic values.

While the conventional greeting in the Roman Catholic Church is, "Praised be Jesus Christ!", the followers of Father Director use, "May Jesus Christ and Mary ever Virgin be praised".

Related enterprises

Enterprises related to Radio Maryja, independent of the Roman Catholic Church authorities, and initiated by the Reverend Rydzyk are the TV network Telewizja Trwam (lit. "I Persist") , a newspaper Nasz Dziennik ("Our Daily"), the Nasza Przyszłość ("Our Future") Foundation, the Lux Veritatis ("The Light of Truth") Foundation, and the Wyższa Szkoła Kultury Społecznej i Medialnej ("The College of Social and Media Culture") in Toruń. The rector of the College until recently was the Reverend Rydzyk. Radio Maryja's opponents say that this network of six enterprises is dominated by the Reverend Rydzyk and call it the "Media Empire of Father Rydzyk", or the "Rydzyk holding company".

Criticisms and controversies

Intolerance

A recent survey on European "hate radio" prepared by Radio Netherlands cited Radio Maryja as controversial. One of Radio Maryja's programs, "Unfinished Conversations" is, according to the magazine Polityka, "dominated by intolerance and authoritarianism". Lech Wałęsa, a Nobel Prize laureate and a former president of Poland , announced that "Radio (Maryja) is lying if it considers itself a Catholic station". Nevertheless, Radio Maryja claims that it is the only independent radio station in Poland. It accuses other media, mainly Gazeta Wyborcza, of fiercely attacking the "only entirely Polish radio station", referring to the fact that almost all mass media, including Gazeta Wyborcza, are controlled by foreign capital. Critics note that the station uses propaganda which emphasizes nationalism, antisemitism, anti-communism and anti-German prejudice.

Antisemitism

Critics agree that the radio station crosses the line of xenophobia. Critics also contend that Radio Maryja propagates extreme antisemitism and hate concepts such as żydokomuna. The Council for Media Ethics referred to the station's "weakly documented accusations" as "primitive anti-Semitism". In January 2000 another controversy was caused by Ryszard Bender, a historian from the Catholic University of Lublin, speaking on Radio Maryja with a convicted Holocaust denier , Dariusz Ratajczak, that Auschwitz was not an extermination camp but merely a large labour camp for Jews . In April, 2006, leading Polish essayist Stanisław Michalkiewicz was reported in Gazeta Wyborcza as stating that "men from Judea ... are trying to surprise us from behind", and referring to the World Jewish Congress as "a main firm in the Holocaust Industry". Michalkiewicz responded by calling Gazeta Wyborcza "an unusual example of the Jewish fifth column in Poland" and "a Jewish newspaper for Poles". Supporters of Radio Maryja claim that hateful or anti-Semitic statements transmitted by the station are rare and originate mostly from its listeners and not its employees.

The alleged antisemitism of Radio Maryja has brought the station to worldwide attention. A report of the Council of Europe stated that Radio Maryja has been "openly inciting to antisemitism for several years" and that there is "a lack of effective implementation of measures intended to prohibit antisemitic acts and statements" in Poland. The Simon Wiesenthal Center initiated a petition condemning Father Rydzyk's antisemitic statements. See a video of Rabbi Marvin Hier talking about the "Jew-hating" Father Rydzyk.

In 2004 Radio Maryja went on a campaign in defense of Father Henryk Jankowski, a priest accused of antisemitism and pedophilia. (State prosecutor found no proof of child molestation, but stated that relations between Father Jankowski and the altar boys were improper. The scandal resulted in a recall of Father Jankowski from the post of parish priest ).

In July 2007 over 700 Polish Catholic intellectuals, journalists, priests and Catholic activists signed a public letter of protest condemning Father Tadeusz Rydzyk. (the signed letter: , in Polish).

In August 2007 Nasz Dziennik, a newspaper tightly linked with Radio Maryja, suggested approval of the Holy Father for Father Rydzyk's behavior - an article entitled "The Holy Father Blessed Us" described in detail how Father Rydzyk and his company went to the Vatican and kissed the hand of the Holy Father. The Vatican promptly announced: "In reference to requests for clarification related to (Father) Tadeusz Rydzyk's 'kiss' ... the matter does not imply any change in the Holy See's well-known position on relations between Catholics and Jews".

Conspiracy theories

Thanks to Radio Maryja's political comments and educational programmes the recent affair regarding the WSI, presented on the station by Antoni Macierewicz, exposed to the society how it was steered by the secret services.

Conflict with Vatican

The Vatican has voiced deep concern about Radio Maryja . The papal nuncio in Poland, Archbishop Józef Kowalczyk, wrote to the Polish Episcopate requesting their aid "to overcome difficulties caused by some transmissions and the views presented by Radio Maryja". In response in May 2006 Polish bishops established an oversight body, a Cooperative Unit for Pastoral Care of Radio Maryja (headed by bishop Sławoj Leszek Głódź). Some Polish bishops support the Reverend Rydzyk, and "thanked for the great evangelizing work conducted by Radio Maryja". Also a group of Polish Sejm deputies and EuroMPs addressed an open letter to the chair of the Episcopate of Poland concerning "protection for Radio Maryja". The controversial Father Director remains the head of Radio Maryja and the radio has ignored the warning from the Vatican ambassador.

Several Polish bishops had criticized Radio Maryja for spreading opinions incompatible with the official Episcopate's stand. Critics note that the Polish Episcopate has been divided over Radio Maryja for a long time . Media speculated that the Roman Catholic Church in Poland might be heading for a schism .

Bishop Tadeusz Pieronek, the former secretary general of the Episcopate of Poland, said that Radio Maryja is "a real and growing problem". According to the official Vatican web page: "Radio Maryja (...) became much more involved in spreading risky politics than in spreading the Gospel."

Euroscepticism

Radio Maryja strongly opposed Poland's joining of the European Union which eventually happened in 2004. The station also suggested that a close cooperation with Russia would better serve Poland's national interests than joining of NATO (which happened in 1999). Until 2003 the Catholic Radio Maryja was also aired on shortwave from Russia. Despite his euroscepticism, Father Director applied for funds of the European Union alloted to help boost Polish businesses and researchers from 2007-2013. Radio Maryja often states that it is attacked by liberal politicians and by media who are doing everything to assault “the only alternative for Poland”. (original web site, in Polish).

Support for death penalty

Radio Maryja promoted the political program of Law and Justice, a Polish conservative party, which together with the League of Polish Families sought to introduce capital punishment in Poland and throughout Europe. The support of Radio Maryja for the death penalty contrasts strongly with the mainstream teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

Involvement in politics

Radio Maryja station's programme expresses Catholic-national ideas. The station criticises the model of a liberal democratic state. According to some opponents this ideological line is contradictory to the Second Vatican Council resolutions, (according to the supporters the resolutions are strictly followed).

Direct involvement in political issues is against the Catholic Church's directives for priests. Nevertheless, controversial politicians, including Andrzej Lepper, Roman Giertych, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, and Zbigniew Ziobro, are often invited to promote their views on Radio Maryja and talk to the listeners. Thus the religious station supports right-wing and patriotic parties, although the Vatican has ordered Radio Maryja to "drop the politics". Asked whether the Reverend Rydzyk would himself form a party, bishop Tadeusz Pieronek, the former secretary general of the Episcopate of Poland, replied that he could not imagine a priest starting a political organization..

Governmental back up

The former cabinet of Jarosław Kaczyński openly supported Radio Maryja. In December 2006 the Prime Minister of Poland, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, joined the 15th anniversary celebrations of Radio Maryja and praised the station as a source of "comfort and hope". Kaczynski warned that "an attack on Radio Maryja is an attack against freedom" (article in Polish by Radio Maryja). Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the twin brother of the President of Poland, was a regular guest of Radio Maryja.

Scandals with President's wife

In 2007 Father Rydzyk heavily offended Maria Kaczynska, the wife of the Polish President Lech Kaczynski, and 50 women journalists who met with the Polish first lady on the International Women's Day. The Reverend Rydzyk said that the meeting was a cesspool - "We will not call it anything else. We will never refer to a cesspool as a perfumery." The women signed a statement to protest a tightening of the country's already strict abortion laws. Later the Wprost magazine published a recording from a lecture given by the Reverend Rydzyk at his private College of Social and Media Culture in Toruń, in which, according to Wprost, he called the President's wife "a witch who should perform euthanasia on herself" and stated that "the President cheated him" (published 8 July, 2007, text and sound in Polish: ). He allegedly called the Polish President "a swindler who had bowed to pressure from the Jewish lobby". The Reverend Rydzyk refused to apologize saying that the voice recording was "a manipulation" and a result of a "fight of spirits". BBC News noted that "Mr. Rydzyk has not denied making the comments".

Alleged attacks on Radio Maryja

In 1996, an anonymous person phoned Radio Maryja and spoke vulgar language to the priest hosting a live program (article in Polish). As a result Radio Maryja uses a delay loop which allows filtering of callers' comments.

Polish Internauts broadly discuss the problems created by Radio Maryja. For example the station used to continuously broadcast an RDS signal for traffic announcements making car radios in Poland notoriously switch to Radio Maryja - see Usenet post: , in Polish. A Google search for 'siedziba szatana' (Polish for 'Satan's seat') once resulted in the Radio Maryja homepage: screenshot 1, screenshot 2. This was due to a Google bomb.

References

Voice of America News, September 5, 2007. Polish Cardinal condemns priest accused of anti-Semitism on radio Retrieved 12-06-2007.
^ Cas Mudde (2005). "Rafal Pankowski and Marcin Kornak, "Poland"". Racist Extremism in Central and Eastern Europe. London: Routledge. p. 168. ISBN 0415355931. OCLC 55228719. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |chapterurl= and |coauthors= (help)

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