-- PRESIDENT'S 47TH BIRTHDAY!

-- SANTANDER RESPONDS TO REPORTS OF PAYMENTS TO THE PRIME MINISTER, CIVIC PLATFORM ASKS FURTHER QUESTIONS - 300LIVE: https://300polityka.pl/live/2019/05/16/

-- A WEEK AND A HALF TO THE ELECTIONS. NEW HEAD OF THE NATIONAL ELECTION COMMISSION STILL NOT SELECTED - ALEKSANDRA GIERACKA IN INTERIA : “A week and a half before the European Parliament elections, the National Electoral Commission has still not selected its new president. It is unknown if this will even happen before the elections. https://fakty.interia.pl/autor/aleksandra-gieracka/news-do-wyborow-poltora-tygodnia-wciaz-nie-wybrano-nowego-szefa-p,nId,2991975

-- JĘDRZEJ BIELECKI IN RZ ON BIPARTISAN AGREEMENT IN THE US SENATE TO BLOCK NORD STREAM 2 - he writes in RZ: “Senators have presented a bill imposing penalties on those building Nord Stream 2. Poland has been pushing for this. Among the signatories of the bill are Republican presidential candidate and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, as well as Democratic Senator from New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen. – Nord Stream 2 threatens Europe's energy security and America's national security. The USA simply cannot allow Russia to dictate Europe's energy future – Cruz stated.” https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/305159911-Bielecki-Nord-Stream-2-co-zrobia-Amerykanie.html

-- JĘDRZEJ BIELECKI ON GERMANY'S ATTITUDE TOWARDS PIS: AFTER A SECOND VICTORY, THEY WILL HAVE TO ACCEPT PIS AS A PARTNER LIKE PO WAS: “However, just as difficult as convincing Americans to impose sanctions will be for the Polish authorities now to skillfully manage this success. After many shocks in the last three years, Polish-German relations have calmed down somewhat. Despite the election campaign, even the most sensitive issues, such as media control by German capital or war reparations, have moved to the background. If the Law and Justice party wins the elections this autumn, Berlin will ultimately be ready to accept Jarosław Kaczyński's party as an equal partner to the Civic Platform. The development of economic cooperation obliges: last year, for the first time, Polish exports to Germany were greater than French exports to the Federal Republic of Germany.” https://www.rp.pl/Komentarze/305159911-Bielecki-Nord-Stream-2-co-zrobia-Amerykanie.html

-- THE JOURNALIST WHO FIRST WROTE ABOUT THE PRIEST FROM TYLAWA - MAŁGORZATA BUJARA IN GW ABOUT PIOTROWICZ: “In 2001, Piotrowicz was the head of the District Prosecutor's Office in Krosno. He supervised the investigation into molestation in the parish in Tylawa. It was conducted from May to October, after which it was discontinued. Piotrowicz announced this decision to journalists in his own office. He discredited witnesses. Regarding Krawiecka, he said, for example, that she first asked the prosecutor's office for discretion and then herself "inspired texts" in "Wyborcza." He negated the intellectual level of one of the victims. He claimed that the victims' testimonies recorded by Krawiecka were analyzed by two psychologists who deemed them unreliable. He assured that most witnesses considered it natural for a priest to have children on his lap, hug them, touch them, kiss them. – No one in this environment found it disturbing – he said. Not even the fact that the priest took children to the rectory at night and bathed them. – For children, sleeping over in an unfamiliar house is an attraction. The bathing was because the children were dirty. Kissing on the lips, according to the priest, was based on "give me a peck" or "tickle my beard" – he justified.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,24788685,prawda-o-prokuratorze-piotrowiczu-i-ksiedzu-pedofilu-z-tylawy.html

-- POLITICIANS WHO ARE NOW RACING PIS TO CONDEMN PEDOPHILIA DID NOT WANT TO HELP THE GDANSK COMMITTEE - BARBARA LABUDA IN CONVERSATION WITH ANNA DRYJAŃSKA: “Not a single soul wanted to help us. Some said they had to think about it, and then contact was lost. Others refused outright. Do you know what they told me? First, they admitted that harming children is a serious problem, and then added, "the church is necessary for us," "this project is redundant," "you will harm the church," "God will judge them," and asked, "who will teach us what is good and evil?" And so, after dozens of phone calls, it turned out that out of the 26 people I contacted, only 4 agreed. They thanked me for calling them, saying, "it's an honor to work for such a great cause." Meanwhile, politicians who are now competing with PiS in condemning pedophilia refused one by one.” https://natemat.pl/272669,projekt-ustawy-o-pedofilii-kleru-rozmowa-natemat-z-barbara-labuda-wywiad

-- DOMINIKA WIELOWIEYSKA ON ALL HOPE LYING WITH THE POPE AND THE GROUP REACHING HIM OUTSIDE THE STRUCTURES OF THE NUNCIO AND THE VATICAN - she writes in GW: “Outside the Episcopate, there is a group of priests and laypeople who have already reached out to Francis through their own channels to convince him that the situation in Poland requires immediate action. Their goal is to get the Pope to watch the film and become familiar with the publications of the Polish press on this matter. This is not just one circle; various groups are undertaking parallel activities – both so-called open Catholics and conservatives. These efforts were already underway before the premiere of the Sekielski brothers' film, but they are now more intensive. The grassroots renewal movement stems from the need to save the Church in the face of the Episcopate's passivity and divisions.”

-- WIELOWIEYSKA ON THE TROUBLES OF POLISH HIERARCHS: “For many Polish hierarchs, this may mean great trouble. Let's hope these rules don't remain only on paper, so that both the faithful and the entire public opinion have the feeling that the bishops responsible for the harm to children are being held genuinely accountable. Because constant apologies are not enough. They are starting to be irritating. The faithful feel that these are just nice words, behind which no actions follow.” http://wyborcza.pl/7,75968,24788726,czy-beda-dymisje-biskupow-cala-nadzieja-w-papiezu.html

-- STANISŁAW TYSZKA PRAISES THE SEKIELSKI BROTHERS' FILM - IN CONVERSATION WITH JACEK NIZINKIEWICZ IN RZ: “It is already playing. I am glad this film was made because it touches upon a very important issue that has been swept under the rug until now. The Church should have undergone self-purification already after the molestation of seminarians by Bishop Paetz came to light in 2002. Fr. Tadeusz Isakowicz-Zaleski, among others, appealed for this. Even then, appropriate procedures should have been implemented to protect victims, and clergy who committed abuses should have been treated with full severity. Please note that most of the characters in the Sekielski brothers' film were registered as secret informants (TW). This shows that the lack of lustration is another problem that is haunting us.”

-- TYSZKA BELIEVES PIS POLITICIANS' STATEMENTS ARE OUTRAGEOUS: “Statements by PiS politicians that they will not watch the Sekielski brothers' film, just as they have not read "Mein Kampf," are outrageous and have no justification. Those who make them should apologize. This is an attempt to cover up their own failures. The Sekielski brothers have done the work that law enforcement agencies should have done much earlier. For almost four years, PiS has supervised the police and prosecution. Why are law enforcement agencies acting only now, in response to the Sekielski brothers' film? After all, their statutory duty is to detect and prosecute crimes. The failures of law enforcement agencies show that we live in a makeshift state.” https://www.rp.pl/Kukiz15/190519614-Tyszka-Potrzebna-zewnetrzna-komisja-ws-pedofili-w-Kosciele.html

-- ARE PEDOPHILE PRIESTS IN AUSTRALIA ALSO COLLABORATED WITH THE SB? SŁAWOMIR SIERAKOWSKI ON PIS IN EXTREME PANIC - he writes in Onet: “Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki today defended the Church in the Sejm by stating that some pedophile priests collaborated with the SB. Is this also true in Australia? Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro, in turn, brought up the 500+ program, as if that could compensate anyone for moral damages. PiS is in extreme panic.”

-- SIERAKOWSKI ON THE PSEUDO-ARGUMENT: “The stupidity of this pseudo-argument is staggering. In the United States, Ireland, Australia, where the phenomenon of pedophilia has been revealed on a massive scale, did the SB also recruit priests? Was there communism there too? How cynical must one be to try to convince people that opponents of lustration are to blame for pedophilia in the Church? Law and Justice truly has a low opinion of its supporters if it believes that it can thus absolve the Church of responsibility for priests' pedophilia. The political philosophy of the "dark masses" remains the operative line in Law and Justice. And it is practiced not by Prof. Krystyna Pawłowicz, but by the Prime Minister himself.” https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/opinie/pedofilia-w-kosciele-sierakowski-morawiecki-znalazl-wymowke-dla-kosciola-opinia/ldcf18c

-- MARCIN FIJOŁEK ON THE ABSENCE OF CAMPAIGNING FOR YOUNG PEOPLE: “Whatever we call young voters, their interest in public affairs is highly dispersed. While studies indicate a radicalization of attitudes and growing support for parties like Wolność (Freedom) or Ruch Narodowy (National Movement) (especially among men), or initiatives like the Black Marches (among women), there is truly no common denominator, even a very low one. Secularization, ideological shift to the left? It seems there's something to it, but conservative values and historical references are still an important premise for at least that part of the youth that is (in some way) engaged in public affairs. Conservative counter-revolution? We would probably find a few islands to confirm this thesis, but it won't be an excessively large archipelago. Climate change, ecology, animal rights? To some extent, yes, but one cannot notice the influence of these circles today (apart from a few happenings) even marginally on the public debate. Often, individual sympathies and interests combine and go against the imaginings of publicists or politicians.” https://wpolityce.pl/m/polityka/446671-kampanijni-magicy-odpuszczaja-najmlodszych-wyborcow

-- MACIEJ MIŁOSZ IN DGP ON DECOMMUNIZATION PLANNED BY MARIUSZ KAMIŃSKI: “To work in the police, services, or military, one usually needs a security clearance. This is a document that allows access to classified information. This also applies to work in the private sector, for example, in the arms industry or the broadly understood security sector. Meanwhile, at the end of April, Mariusz Kamiński, the coordinator of special services, presented the Standing Committee of the Council of Ministers with a draft of a new law on the protection of classified information, which stipulates that security clearances will not be granted to individuals employed, among others, in the SB, communist intelligence, or military counterintelligence. This also applies to those who cooperated with these institutions. This term is so broad that in practice it could affect several, or even several dozen, thousand people who had anything to do with them.” https://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/polityka/artykuly/597931,dekomunizacja-sluzby-mundurowe-bezpieka-prl.html

-- BIRTHDAYS: Andrzej Duda, Krystyna Zachwatowicz, Krzysztof Brejza, Janina Sagatowska.