On Saturday 27 May, Archbishop Marek Jędraszewski ordained only seven deacons. Did he make any reference to the crisis in the Church and the statistics? Of course not. Instead, he told the clergy the story of the martyrdom of the apostles Peter, Paul and John.

Statistics on the number of Catholic Church priests cover the period up to 2021, as 'Wyborcza' reports. The document 'Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae in Polonia', prepared by the Witold Zdaniewicz Institute for Catholic Church Statistics SAC, shows that 23,984 priests were incardinated into all Polish dioceses in 2021. This is more than 200 priests less than in the previous year.

Moreover, the evident crisis within the Church is also very easy to notice among the faithful. Empty churches and monasteries, fewer and fewer people attending mass or parents unsubscribing their children from religious lessons - all this is happening before our eyes. As reported by the instituteobywatelski.pl, research confirms that between 1992 and 2021 there was a serious decline in the level of religious belief and practice. The sharpest decline is in the number of catholics aged 18-24 year old - from 69 per cent to 23 per cent.

Should the crisis in the Church and among the faithful surprise anyone? In my opinion, no. Virtually every day we learn of further scandals involving the clergy. Paedophilia, meddling in politics or the teasing minorities and refugees from Ukraine have finally had negative consequences.

After all, how is the Church supposed to be in good condition when every day we hear about paedophile priests who are not being punished in any way. A story from a school in the Podkarpacie region might be a good example. The headmistress reported that the priest touched children in an inappropriate way on their thighs and buttocks and that he put his hands between their legs.

It would seem that the community's reaction should have been undisputed: demanding the priest's dismissal from the school. After all, the victims were children... However, it turned out that the villagers demanded that it was the headmistress who should resign from her post. What is more, they came to the school and wanted to remove the woman. The question is: why? In my opinion, the answer is simple - because the Church in this country is untouchable, holy and infallible.

A child reports being touched inappropriately? Surely it's their fault, they asked for it themselves, they deserved it... Someone reveals that in the past a priest-pedophile was transferred from parish to parish? He's using a vilification against the Church and is not a true Pole.

Archbishop Marek Jędraszewski is another figure who is causing the Church in Poland to be in a very big crisis. The priest often speaks out on topics about which he clearly has no clue. We all remember when he called the LGBQ+ community a "rainbow plague".

- The red plague no longer walks our land, but a new, neo-Marxist plague has appeared, wanting to control our souls, hearts and minds. Not red, but rainbow," Archbishop Jędraszewski said at the 2019 Mass.

Archbishop Jędraszewski's statement concerning women should not be forgotten either. In fact, the clergyman stated that they do not give birth to a sufficient number of children because they "prefer to have fun". There are no such crises as economic, financial or climate crises for the priest - Polish women, according to him, simply do not want to be good women.

"Wyborcza" reports that it spoke to young clergymen from Krakow in March. Some of them are not satisfied with the way Archbishop Jędraszewski is leading the archdiocese. There are also some who speak outright of revolt against the hierarch's outrageous statements.

One of the most important issues through which many Polish women and men are moving away from the Church must not be forgotten. It is the blatant interference in politics. We can constantly see representatives of the United Right ("Zjednoczona Prawica" political alliance) at Father Tadeusz Rydzyk's masses. The clergyman praises those in power outright, thanks them for their subsidies and huge sums of money, and expresses his opinions on the opposition.

It might seem that the church is a sacred place, meant for the clergy. It turns out to be otherwise during the reign of the United Right. For I recall the speeches made by politicians from the ruling party at Jasna Góra - for many Poles an absolutely sacred place.

Among many, the Speaker Elżbieta Witek, who asks God for wisdom. One should not forget Mrs Jadwiga Emilewicz. The Law and Justice (PiS) MP made her campaign speeches not from just any random place in Częstochowa. She spoke from the pulpit at the altar...

Can then anyone be surprised that the Church in Poland is in crisis? In my opinion, no. Many Polish women and men are tired of priests constantly meddling in their lives, commenting on what they do, with whom and why, and getting involved in election campaigns for the United Right.