Canadian Parish Bans Anti-Semitic Polish Priest
The Catholic archdiocese of Edmonton in the province of Alberta, Canada has denounced a Polish priest who aired anti-Semitic ideas on his radio station, Radio Maryja. According to newspaper the Edmonton Journal, Father Tadeusz Rydzyk was barred from visiting or speaking at the Archdiocese of Edmonton in the province of Alberta, Canada and affiliated parishes.Â
This decision comes after a plea from B’nai Brith Alberta spokesperson Abe Silverman. Following a phone conversation between Silverman and Archbishop Richard Smith, the diocese announced that it would bar Rydzyk from speaking.
According to the Jerusalem Post, Rydzyk’s Radio Maryja has previously made headlines for its Anti-Semitic content. The Edmonton Journal reported that in 2016 the station alleged United States senators were critical of the Polish government because of the senators’ Jewish heritage.
B’nai Brith Canada explained in a statement that Rydzyk had visited Canada before to fund-raise for his media enterprise. In 2018, former Alberta Deputy Premier Thomas Lukaszuk raised concerns when it became public that Rydzyk was scheduled to speak at the Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Calgary, Alberta.
In response to the decision from the Archdiocese of Edmonton to ban Rydzyk, Silverman said: “We are grateful to the archbishop and his diocese for taking this principled and very important step to recognize that there are just some people in the world that you want to try and avoid because they’re divisive and racist.”
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