"Nonsense about some human rights". New education minister and his worldview

Przemysław Czarnek will stand at the helm of the newly merged ministries of education and science, and starting October 1, he will work as a professor at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin. He was promoted in August by the former rector of the school. The ongoing disciplinary action over Czarnek's words on LGBT people wasn't an obstacle. Which words exactly?

"Let's protect families from this sort of degeneration, corruption, absolutely immoral conduct, let's protect ourselves from the LGBT ideology and let's stop listening to this nonsense about some human rights or some equality. These people aren't equal to normal people and let's end this discussion" - said PiS member Przemysław Czarnek on June 13 in public television TVP Info.

He also said at the time: "Let's quit discussing these LGBT abominations, homosexuality, bisexuality, equality parades. Let's protect family, as lack of protection for family leads to what you can see for yourselves".

Speaking these words, Czarnek reached for his phone and showed a picture of a group of people. "These people are from downtown Los Angeles, it's from June last year. I was there in delegation, and it so happened there was a so-called gay pride" - he added. "We are in early stages and we don't have such things at home yet, but such individuals parade unashamedly through the streets of the Western city of Los Angeles" - he continued. According to Czarnek, "that's where Europe is heading, that's where Poland is heading".

Already the following day, PiS lawmaker was explaining his comments in social media. "I'm stressing yet again invoking the Polish Constitution: 'Everyone, with no exceptions are equal, is equal before the law and in dignity'. Regardless, there can be absolutely no consent and acceptance for degeneration and depravity in the streets, such as shown on the picture from LA that I commented on yesterday. Therefore, I distance myself from all manipulation regarding my words and I demand their distortions and placing them out of context to stop. I'm sad because of the deliberate attempts to attribute intentions to me which I never had" - he wrote on Twitter on June 14.

Czarnek brought up the LGBT+ issues many times as the Lublin Voivode, and then as a member of parliament. For instance, during a lecture ha gave in October 2019, entitled "Influence of neomarxism on teaching on family".

"Postmodernism (...) and neomarxism (...) are completely destroying the unity layer, fighting community in all its dimensions - starting from the family - which is based on marriage - through local community, up to the nation as a whole" - Czarnek said at the time. "I will always stand out against promoting deviation, perversion and degeneration - exactly as the catechism dictates and exactly the way the Holy Scripture tells me I should. And no rector (...), no conference of university rectors in Poland won't forbid me to do so" - he said referring to a letter by the Honorary President of the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland, Prof. Jan Szmidt.

In the same lecture, he argued that "in nature there's no such thing as homosexual marriage". "It's like a dry puddle, or dry sea. Either there's a puddle, or there's not. When there's no water, it's no longer a puddle. Same thing with marriage. It's either a union between a man and a woman, or it's not a marriage" - Czarnek said.

Furthermore, in his lecture, he criticised feminism by saying that it's been "taking its tragic toll". "In order to attack family, you have to attack the woman first, as women are absolutely irreplaceable in families" - he said. "And how to attack family, the woman? Tell her: you don't need this, you're the same as any man, go and work, drive a tractor, a harvester, pursue a career. Career first, and maybe later children" - he added. In his view, "attack on family is an attack women and that's what feminism is about".

A year before that - in 2018 - at the same event, Czarnek, at the time serving as the Voivode of Lublin, said: "Some try to persuade us that only humans create the reality, that there's no one out there beside humans, that with a will of the majority anything can be settled".

He also pointed out that "we should have as much as possible of such media like 'Niedziela', 'Radio Maryja', 'TV Trwam', we should strive towards that as Catholic community".

"Today, by fighting the objective reality, by fighting Christianity, we've gone so far that we've turned democracy into a minority dictatorship. Today, we no longer have democracy as the will of the majority, today we have democracy meaning only rights of the minority" - Czarnek said. He added: "Democracy is a system governed by the majority, with respect for the rights of the minority, but this respect cannot change into a minority dictatorship, and yet it does".

In September 2018, on his YouTube channel, Czarnek criticised the Equality March in Lublin. In the recording, he said the march promoted "perversion, deviation and degeneration" and "anti-family, anti-Christian attitudes, openly defying the catechism and the Polish Constitution". "Flaunting your sexuality like this in the streets is simply disgusting" - he said. The organiser of the march sued the voivode for slander over his comments. Such offense carries a sentence up to one year in prison.

As part of the settlement, Czarnek published an apology on his channel. Immediately after, however, he issued a statement in which he retracted his words. The statement was sent over to the media by the voivode's spokesperson Marek Wieczerzak.

"In light of quite numerous and unreliable comments, including those published by the press, after yesterday's court settlement the Voivode of Lublin underscores that in line with the said settlement HE DOES NOT APOLOGISE TO ANYONE FOR ANY SINGLE WORD SPOKEN ABOUT THE EQUALITY MARCH. He does not retract any single word. In line with the agreed settlement he expresses regret that that his intentions were misinterpreted by some viewers and that they felt offended because of that" - reads Czarnek's statement.

In October 2019, Przemysław Czarnek has become a member of parliament. He sits in three committees: economy and development, justice and human rights, and foreign affairs. Within 12 months in the Sejm, he put forward five interpellations. None of which pertained to science and education. Czarnek intervened in the following matters:

- helping young farmers in starting business

- financing the equipment of the Center of Oncology of the Lublin Region

- wage levels of customs and revenue officers in Lublin

- limits of people allowed in churches

- crematoria located in close vicinity of residential estates.

He spoke 30 times in the Sejm. None of his speeches pertained to science or education law. He had plenty to say about the postal voting.