Imagine a scene straight out of a thrilling police movie: six hooded officers bursting into a hideout of criminals, armed with cameras instead of guns, drones hovering above, searching rooms and photographing interiors. Sounds like fiction, right? Unfortunately, this was a real event that shook Lublin on December 19, 2024. The National Prosecutor’s Office ordered a raid on the historic Dominican friary, violating the monks’ cells in a manner more fitting for a totalitarian regime than a democratic country like Poland.
The pretext for this invasive operation? To search for Deputy Marcin Romanowski, who was reportedly abroad in Spain or Hungary, as per media reports. So, why storm a friary in Lublin looking for someone who was not even there? The whole ordeal appeared to be a dramatic and oppressive display rather than a genuine search operation.
The appalling raid on the Dominican Monastery of Saint Stanislaus sparked outrage across Polish society. The Association of Lawyers for Poland pointed out that not only were national laws violated, but also the Concordat between the Holy See and the Republic of Poland, guaranteeing the inviolability of places of worship. The lawyers condemned the government’s actions as a deliberate attack on the Catholic Church to undermine its influence in the country.
The Dominicans themselves expressed shock and disbelief at being implicated in such a baseless search operation. Father Łukasz Wiśniewski, the Polish provincial of the Dominicans, emphasized that none of the friars had any connection to Deputy Romanowski and were unaware of his whereabouts. The Dominicans have taken the matter seriously, filing a complaint with the National Prosecutor’s Office and demanding access to the records justifying the raid.
This disturbing incident raises questions about the state of law and order in Poland under the current government. The Lawyers for Poland criticized the National Prosecutor’s Office for descending into chaos and anarchy under the leadership of Adam Bodnar and his prosecutors. Despite glaring violations, the Brussels authorities, who previously targeted Poland, seem silent on these issues.
