Poland files complaint with Vatican after RCC bishops criticize Islamic migration
Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has accused bishops of incitement and xenophobia following their remarks on migration and criticism of the government.
On July 15, 2025, Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs submitted an official complaint to the Vatican against two Polish bishops, accusing them of incitement and violating the spirit of the Concordat. The news was reported by European Conservative.
The complaint was prompted by a sermon delivered by Bishop Emeritus Wiesław Mering of Włocławek at Jasna Góra on July 13, in which he referred to Poland’s current government as “political gangsters” and described its members as “people who call themselves Germans.” He also quoted a 17th-century poet saying, “A German will never be a brother to a Pole,” and claimed that Poland is under threat both from the East and the West.
Poland’s Foreign Ministry issued a formal protest, stating that such rhetoric contradicts not only the spirit and letter of the Concordat but also undermines the foundations of Polish-German reconciliation. Warsaw deemed the remarks incompatible with Catholic Church teaching and Poland’s official stance.
During the same pilgrimage, Bishop Antoni Długosz also criticized Islamic migration, asserting that Europe has been undergoing Islamization for decades and that illegal migrants are “causing serious problems” in host countries.
The Foreign Ministry described the bishops’ remarks as “harmful and misleading,” claiming they reflect support for nationalist movements and misuse of the pulpit to promote xenophobia.
Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski called Bishop Mering’s speech “shameful and disgraceful,” adding that incitement to hatred in the name of a Church founded by someone who was himself a refugee is both an intellectual and moral contradiction.
The Polish government has urged the Holy See to review the bishops’ statements and take disciplinary action. Despite Poland’s long-standing historical ties with Rome, relations between the Catholic Church and the liberal government of Donald Tusk have recently grown tense amid ideological disagreements.
As previously reported by the UOJ, a Roman Catholic hierarch recently commented critically on bishops appointed by the pope.
