Sunday, April 2, 2023

Poland: 200,000 people walked in Papal March for John Paul II

 According to news portal Niezalezna(.)pl, preliminary estimates show that 200,000 people participated in the Papal March in Warsaw. The participants set off from the Dmowskiego roundabout in the capital's center at 11 am. Then they walked to the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, where at At 12:30, the Holy Mass was celebrated.

No other media reported the estimates, so the number of participants in the Papa March has yet to be confirmed.

John Paul II died 18 years ago on the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday, April 2, 2005, in the Vatican. He was 84 years old. His pontificate lasted 26 years.

The Papal March was organized to protest the media attacks initiated by an American-owned television station TVN 24 (sister station of CNN). 

On March 6, TVN 24 aired a report titled "Franciszkańska 3", which described three priests' cases and Cardinal Karol Wojtyla's reaction. The report also included statements by the Dutch publicist Ekke O., who, in his book, alleges that JPII knew of the pedophilia in the Polish Church and did nothing. Both claims are based on the files of the communist secret police department responsible for disintegration activities against the Church.