The Presidency of the Polish Episcopal Conference made public this Saturday, October 31, in Warsaw, a statement calling for «not escalating the conflict,» to undertake constructive dialogue, and to peacefully resolve all difficulties surrounding the Constitutional Tribunal. The text, signed by the Archbishop of Gdansk and President of the Conference, Tadeusz Wojda, by the Archbishop of Wrocław and Vice President, Józef Kupny, and by the Secretary General, Marek Marczak, was released after police entered the Tribunal premises on Friday and after President Karol Nawrocki interrupted his trip to Senegal.
The bishops: neither judges of the conflict nor indifferent
In the statement, published on the Episcopal website, the bishops affirm that they observe with concern the events and the escalation of the dispute over the constitutional foundations of the State. They specify that it is not for the Church to determine the causes of the conflict or the responsibilities, but they invite all people of good will to support efforts for reconciliation and national understanding.
Furthermore, the prelates ask the faithful to pray for the homeland and for those who govern, so that they may attend to the common good. The statement includes the prayer for the homeland by the Jesuit Piotr Skarga.
Police at the Tribunal and Nawrocki back in Warsaw
According to Polish media reports, on Friday afternoon the police and the State Protection Service accessed the Tribunal premises. Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska announced the suspension of the Tribunal President, Bogdan Święczkowski, who was not allowed to enter the building. Nawrocki, who was traveling to Senegal for the Dakar Youth Olympic Games, wrote on X: «At a time like this the president must be in Poland. I am interrupting the flight to Senegal. I am returning.» His plane landed in Warsaw at 21:50 and the president went to the Tribunal headquarters at dawn.
In its statement, the Presidency affirms that that night there was a violation of the constitutional order and «a takeover by force» of a State body. It calls for the security forces sent by the Government to leave the premises and maintains that, in a democratic state governed by the rule of law, the police cannot be an instrument to execute the political will of the rulers. Nawrocki facilitated the entry of the Tribunal Vice President, Bartłomiej Sochański, whom he considers legitimately in office, and called for urgent consultations with the parliamentary forces. He told Korwin-Piotrowska and two other judges: «You are not judges of the Tribunal.»
The Government of Donald Tusk presents its actions as a restoration of the rule of law. Tusk wrote on X that restoring the rule of law is his duty. The police, for their part, maintain that they acted within their legal security obligations. The Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General, Waldemar Żurek, sent the Tribunal five requests for lifting the immunity of judges, four of them regarding Święczkowski.
Ordo Iuris collects signatures and appeals to European bodies
The Catholic legal institute Ordo Iuris described the events as a «nocturnal takeover by force» of the headquarters and an «unprecedented attack on a constitutional body,» and questions the legality of the order that removed the President and Vice President of the Tribunal. The entity called for an urgent reaction from the Venice Commission, EU institutions, the Council of Europe, and the OSCE, and launched a signature collection demanding the withdrawal of the police, clarification of who ordered the operation, and an investigation of the facts.
The Bishop of Sosnowiec, Artur Ważny, described the institutional crisis as a «test of conscience,» according to The Catholic Herald, while hundreds of people gathered in front of the building, closed with a chain and surrounded by police.