Polish Sejm member Claudia Yahira has spoken out against reading Catholic prayers in parliament or placing religious symbols in parliament. The atheist activist belongs to the country’s ruling Civic Platform party.
Polish Sejm meetings usually begin with a minute of silence in memory of deceased former MPs or other prominent Polish politicians. These events usually end with the prayer “Eternal rest.” Such values were criticized by 36-year-old Civic Coalition MP Claudia Yahira.
“When the Marshal of the Sejm calls for a minute of silence to honour the memory of the dead, this silence must be respected. But the church is meant for prayer, not for the Diet!” – the Polish newspaper Super Express quotes the politician as saying.
Yakhira is even against Christmas trees in parliament:
“Christmas trees are best enjoyed in their natural environment, which is the forest. As a general rule, there should be no religious symbols in secular public institutions.”
In this regard, the Kresy portal recalls that a few months ago the mayor of Warsaw Rafal TrzaskowskiTrzaskowski, also from Civic Platform, signed a resolution banning the display of Catholic crosses in offices and forbidding city officials to display religious symbols on their desks. The initiative sparked a storm in Polish public space and numerous comments, as well as opposition from the church and conservative circles. Influenced by the criticism, Trzaskowski later announced that the decree would not be implemented.
