SRQ DAILY THURSDAY FAMILY AND RECREATION EDITION Sarasota County Schools is pleased to announce that Mrs Jamie Lowicz has been appointed as the new Principal of Atwater Elementary School “I am incredibly excited to join the Atwater Elementary community,” said Lowicz “I look forward to collaborating with our dedicated staff and enthusiastic students to create an environment where every student can thrive we will continue to foster a culture of excellence I am eager to embark on this new journey and build upon the strong foundation already in place at Atwater.” Mrs Lowicz earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from Central Missouri State University and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from National-Louis University She holds certifications in Educational Leadership English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Before assuming her current role as the Principal of Oak Park School in August 2017 Lowicz served as the Assistant Principal of Curriculum at Sarasota High School and an ESE Behavior Specialist at Riverview High School Over One Hundred Seventy Five Kids Battle in Remote Control Car Competition A Unique Institution and PreCollege is Your First Step Toward Turning Your Dream into Reality Ringling College Town Hall 2026 Season Announcement Celebrate the sprit of our hometown with SRQ Magazine boutiques and philanthropic hearts of Sarasota Bradenton Area and the Barrier Islands on the West Coast of Florida We invite you to experience living and loving local - in print and online SRQ Media transforms what it means to live and love local through its portfolio of hyper-local print and online publications including its flagship city regional SRQ Magazine and video production division Moving Stories and non-profit development division Story Project The SRQ Media team leverages its strong audience footprint to catalyze visionary community programs such as SB2: Regional Symposia Series SkillSHARE and ProjecThinkby engaging individuals to positively impact their hometown of Sarasota and the Bradenton Area situated on the vibrant West Coast of Florida cultural and education organizations and not-profits throughout the year with custom programs and sponsorships Church historian Yann Raison du Cleuziou discusses the church’s historical debates on popular religion highlighting tensions between modernization efforts during Vatican II and traditional practices Pope Francis' participation in a conference on popular religion in Corsica underscores the evolving role of grassroots faith practices within the Catholic Church a scholar of the church’s historical debates discusses the complex relationship between popular religion and official church doctrine NORTH PORT — Sarasota County Schools announced Jamie Lowicz will be the new principal of Atwater Elementary School in North Port Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content Get any of our free email newsletters — news headlines Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account https://episkopat.pl/doc/218008.Bp-Wojciech-Osial-mianowany-biskupem-lowickim https://episkopat.pl/doc/218006.Mons-Wojciech-Osial-nuovo-Vescovo-di-Lowicz The new Bishop of Łowicz is 53 years old and holds a doctorate in educational sciences He has been Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Łowicz for more than eight years He has also been apostolic administrator sede vacante since 9 March this year he is president of the Commission for Catholic Education and of the Working Group for contacts with the Government of Poland on religious education in schools He is also a member of the Commission for Pastoral Care and the Youth Pastoral Council His episcopal motto is "Dominus Cor Intuetur" (the Lord looks into the heart) Press Office of the Polish Bishops' Conference SARASOTA — Sarasota County School Superintendent Todd Bowden named Jamie Lowicz acting principal of Oak Park School which serves students with special needs from pre-K to age 22 who has served as Oak Park principal since April 2013 and was recently named principal of Emma E “This is an incredible opportunity,” Lowicz said “My background in special education and my love of serving students with diverse needs has led me to Oak Park I want to honor the wonderful work Edwina Oliver has done at the school and I hope to continue to build on the strengths of this very special community of students Lowicz has been an assistant principal at Sarasota High School since 2013 In 2012-13 she was a behavior specialist at Riverview High School She taught in Charlotte County high schools from 2006 to 2012 was executive director of the Pacesetter Academy Foundation from 1999 to 2003 and was program coordinator for the Pacesetter Academy in Omaha Public Schools in 1998-99 She also has served as a school social worker with Houston County Public Schools in Georgia and as director of a Head Start center in Warner Robins “Jamie has distinguished herself as a high-performing administrator," said Executive Director of High Schools Steve Cantees and the care and respect she has for students will be a great fit for Oak Park.” Lowicz earned a bachelor’s degree from Central Missouri State University and a master’s from National Louis University in Tampa And the Latvian-born model and her partner Roman Troubetskoi were also expecting a baby boy A photo posted by Elizaveta Lowicz Bulokhova (@elizavetalowicz) on Apr 24 a grave diagnosis brought Bulokhova's flourishing young life to a standstill Pain and swelling she had been experiencing in her jaw over the past few months was revealed to be a rare form of osteosarcoma Bulokhova underwent a 16-hour surgery in which 95 per cent of her jaw was removed followed by a series of surgeries to reconstruct it Doctors then told Bulokhova that she would have to terminate her pregnancy before beginning chemotherapy and Bulokhova was miraculously able to deliver her son Valentin was born via cesarean section on December 16 Bulokhova began her first cycle of chemotherapy her scars exposed to tell her remarkable story Ceron also captured photos of Bulokhova with her beautiful young family Bulokhova told Cosmopolitan.com that she found the shoot therapeutic and cherished being in front of the camera again She said she hopes the photos will inspire others particularly those who have survived cancer to choose their own definition of beauty and embrace their imperfections "All your imperfections become perfect to you You become proud of who you are as a person the inner strength and your ability to overcome anything that comes your way And though she is uncertain about her future in modelling Reporting by Marek Strzelecki; editing by Giles Elgood Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab , opens new tab Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. , opens new tabScreen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved ENGLEWOOD — The Lemon Bay High defense has been a work in progress for more than a decade Oglivie came from Ohio to coach the Manta Rays in 2011 he hired Don Southwell as his defensive coordinator.  Southwell wasn't sure that style of defense would work in Florida where high school football teams feature the forward pass much more than they did in Ohio at the time he ran it anyway in the spring classic.  Area rankings: Area high school football rankings: Who's No. 1 entering Week 8? Week 7: Analysis, results, photos from Week 7 area high school football games Football standings: Up-to-date area football standings Oglivie decided to change to a 4-3 scheme for the fall classic Just before the regular season opener, Oglivie went with a 5-3 alignment with an emphasis on stopping the run.  Lemon Bay lost that game 22-14 to Naples Palmetto Ridge but ... “We didn’t have to replace bulbs on the scoreboard,” Southwell said it's now 2021 and the Manta Rays have been using that same defensive look still “As you coach something you find out what the holes in it are,” Southwell said.  When Southwell became the Mantas head coach in 2017 he also took over as offensive coordinator but still had a fondness for the defensive side. “It evolved, I kind of put my stamp on it ... It was like your child,” he said.  he turned the defense over to Jamie Lowicz and he put his mark on it. And it's worked out pretty well Lemon Bay has allowed just one touchdown on defense so far this season and that came way back in Week 1 against Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Lemon Bay returned only two defensive starters from last season's 8-2 playoff team three or four were sophomores,” Southwell said “I didn’t know if every time (an opponent) snapped the ball they were going to score.” The defensive front includes sophomore nose guard Dan Romanelli who Southwell calls the “strongest kid on the team,” and junior defensive end Joe Hackett “Our defensive line gets off the ball and our nose guard is built like a nose guard He makes things happen,” Southwell said A number of other players rotate in and out of the linebacker positions including sophomore Caleb Whitmore who leads the team,” defensive back Aaron Pasick said Watching Gabe Dickerson and Luke Tannehill shut down quarterbacks and running backs ... it’s always fun to see that.” Pasick is the only returning defensive player who plays the same position he did last season. The revamped Lemon Bay defense had a good showing in its season opener against Saint Stephen’s but the real eye-opener was in Week 3 against DeSoto County.  “They’ve got a pretty good scheme I was concerned about their speed and a lot of misdirection,” Southwell said of the Bulldogs.  The Manta Rays ended up blanking the Bulldogs — their second of three straight shutouts They also keep Bayshore and Fort Myers Gateway Charter off the scoreboard.  “Our coaches give us a really good preparation on Mondays,” Pasick said All we do in practice is learn it and apply it it becomes a routine and we know what we are doing Lonne Moore (defensive tackles) assist Lowicz in coaching the defense it’s just the defense we run,” Lowicz said “Our kids have bought into it and the concept. We run the same thing on JVs A former Riverview High player under John Sprague Lowicz had coaching stints with the Rams under former coach Todd Johnson and at Booker under former coaches Johnnie Jones and Recharde Goodwyn He says there is one major key to the Mantas' defense: Effort. “They’re all-out effort and going to it “Nope," Lowicz said. "It’s a result of their work Monday through Thursday And win the Manta Rays (5-0) have done that They take a 13-game regular season win streak into Friday’s game at Lake Placid Lemon Bay’s defense has not allowed a point in eight of those games Akelynn’s Angels Christian Academy at IMG Varsity Indian Rocks Christian at Out-of-Door Academy Braden River at Clearwater Central Catholic Dennis Maffezzoli is the deputy sports editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and chief reporter for Sarasota Herald-Tribune and HTpreps covering Sarasota Support local journalism by subscribing.  a behavior specialist who worked at Oak Park School in the Sarasota County School District Brinton had worked at the school for children with disabilities for the past three years and her husband Rob is a deputy with the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office The cause of death was not immediately available. According to a GoFundMe page set up to support the family Brinton was 33 and the death was unexpected.  School district staff came to Oak Park on Tuesday to help students at the school for children with disabilities process the news Oak Park Principal Jamie Lowicz said Brinton was a beloved mother figure who pushed students to overcome the challenges their disability created.  "There was devastation across the entire campus," Lowicz said. "She was neck deep into everything here and running a mile a minute." Lowicz described Brinton as an integral part of the Oak Park team.  "Sam has left an indelible mark on the Panther Nation during her tenure with us," Lowicz wrote "Her level-headed approach to problem solving and her soothing demeanor in times of crisis encouraged many of us and our students to seek her out for guidance and advocacy (or even for just a hug or a smile)." 'Something else to overcome': Sarasota’s students with disabilities adapt to COVID-19 protocols 'Give them a chance': Sarasota special-needs mom goes viral on TikTok, sparks positive gamer movement Brinton's role as a behavior specialist meant she worked closely with some of the most challenging students helping them develop strategies to communicate when they were upset.  "She just had this really special ability to meet kids where they were at," Lowicz said.  Brinton brought the Special Olympics to Oak Park and once pandemic restrictions were lifted last year she had 25 to 30 kids participating in the school's new track program Some of those students qualified for the county-wide Special Olympics "She really built a program that we can build upon." Lowicz said many students at the school took the news hard Tuesday and that staff were helping students to understand the emotions of grief they may be feeling.  "Even when they don't have the words to express what they're feeling they still understand what is going on," Lowicz said.  The GoFundMe page, set up by colleagues of Brinton's husband Rob, had raised $11,930 for the family as of Wednesday afternoon.   Ryan McKinnon covers schools for the Herald-Tribune Connect with him at ryan.mckinnon@heraldtribune.com or on Twitter: @JRMcKinnon Support the Sarasota Herald-Tribune by subscribing today.  SARASOTA COUNTY — An angry and outspoken contingent of parents demanded change at Oak Park Sarasota County's school for severely disabled students at Tuesday's meeting of the Sarasota School Board Worried for the safety of their children and angry at new policies they say heighten danger roughly two dozen Oak Park parents and advocates showed up to call for reform "He's asking questions about whether or not he's going to get beat up," Rhoda Sears said after the meeting, describing the night terrors her son Liam has been suffering ever since witnessing a violent assault on his teacher by a student in a violent rage READ MORE: Sarasota-Manatee education stories said the school was hiding the true nature of how dangerous the school had become Sears said she didn't know that her son's teacher had been hospitalized after protecting Liam from an attack until she read Brenner's account in the Herald-Tribune this month who has cerebral palsy and struggles to speak and administrators were elusive about details and did not meet with her for five months Oak Park Principal Jamie Lowicz attended the meeting but she did not speak and declined to answer any questions Many parents emphasized their love for the school and said they want the public to understand it isn't disobedience that is driving the violence but poor policies implemented to manage severely disabled children Lowicz has become the focal point for many of the parents' anger They say her new rules put students at risk including requirements for students to change class with a standard bell schedule eat together in a cafeteria and be grouped by age rather than disability "I want her gone," said longtime parent leader and Oak Park parent Debbie Ezelle The rationale for the new policies is not clear as Lowicz has declined interview requests but they align with the state trend of treating special needs students similarly to mainstream students Florida grades schools such as Oak Park on test scores receiving  “commendable,” “maintaining” or “unsatisfactory" ratings and students with severe disabilities are required to learn the same concepts as their peers in mainstream Students who may not be able to count to 10 or say their name receive watered-down algebra and biology lessons and those students are required to take an alternative version of the Florida Standards Assessment Exemptions by the state test are exceedingly rare an Oak Park parent and attorney who is considering filing a civil rights complaint said the school's focus on academic concepts ignores students' true needs and then they say she's acting out," Bastawros said "You do 50 minutes of math with a blindfold on." Injuries to teachers started the conversation about Oak Park after the teacher's union publicized increasing workers compensation claims at the school in May The school has seen a dramatic increase in violence this year with more teachers reporting injuries on the job and untrained long-term subs filling vacancies for months But on Tuesday the predominant fear was that their children were getting hurt Ezelle said she had to pick up her daughter Alexis early on Friday because she was crying hysterically Debbie said she discovered a large bruise on Alexis that looked like someone had grabbed and twisted her breast The Ezelles said they have contacted the Department of Children and Families and want an investigation into how Alexis was wounded who has autism and is "obsessed with food," will unintentionally start a fight if he is required to eat in the cafeteria The sensory overload of so much food in one place may overwhelm him and Allegra is worried for the day when he snatches another student's food "I'm scared he's going to get attacked," she said Superintendent Todd Bowden told parents that he took their concerns seriously and had taken copious notes as they spoke “I take each one of these issues at face value,” Bowden said “We’ll hit these issues head on as an organization.” Board member Eric Robinson told the parents that the responsibility ultimately lies with the board and Chairwoman Jane Goodwin said she hopes the district can tackle these issues before school begins in August Board member Shirley Brown read a letter defending the current school's administration during the meeting saying that a change in leadership would only result in more upheaval at the school board members Caroline Zucker and Brown said many of the school's trouble stem from new state policies board members also need to help legislators understand the impact of those policies Brown said she hopes Oak Park's critics will understand the challenge of finding special needs teachers and heeding to harmful state rules but said these issues exist at every school for children with special needs and questioned the recent outrage "I think there are people stoking the fire," she said but his teachers know that COVID-19 is stressing him out Sarasota’s school for children with disabilities so he uses a touch-screen tablet to communicate allowing him to tap out answers to questions by clicking on pictures and symbols And the technology gives his teachers a better understanding of what he’s thinking as he takes in the array of changes that a pandemic has brought to his world.   “The general sense is that he just wants things to be normal,” said his teacher “There’s this feeling of looming anxiety that we have all kind of felt and just because he is nonverbal doesn’t mean he isn’t having the same feelings that we are.” Since schools in Sarasota County reopened on Aug students have had to acclimate to new protocols one-way hallways and desk dividers are now just a part of the school routine like fire drills or chicken nuggets in the cafeteria In case you missed it: Anti-mask parents in Sarasota County raise $11,000 for lawsuit against schools More: Manatee students can switch their learning model, but it may take some time Many of Luther’s classmates are also nonverbal Some are medically fragile and more prone to the virus Other students with emotional-behavioral disorders are adjusting to new rules that can irritate even the most even-keeled adult And others just crave hugs from their teachers led a group of students into the cafeteria As she took a 30-second break while her sidekicks got breakfast she talked about how teaching children with autism had changed because of the virus but with the virus we have to be separate,” she said they don’t have a good ability at reading the face But if anyone is up for dealing with unexpected challenges but having to use a wheelchair or not being able to talk has already toughened up these kids “They have had challenges their whole life so this is just something else that has to be overcome and dealt with and faced,” Lowicz said “Our kids are the champions when it comes to adversity … that makes a virus look fairly simple Lowicz gathered a team of staff members over the summer to figure out how to reopen school and keep their students safe They knew that some of the new rules that leaders at traditional schools have mandated were simply impossible at Oak Park Teachers can’t socially distance themselves from students who need help and they knew many children would struggle with mask mandates.    “What’s the safest way that we can do this knowing that there are special needs that exist that are unlike anywhere else in the district?” Lowicz said they asked themselves.  They prepared for the year by restructuring parts of the school day trying to maintain as much student independence as possible Students at Oak Park learn how to make decisions and advocate for themselves through simple routines like picking out their food in the cafeteria School leaders tried to keep in mind how any new mandates would affect students’ development it is essential it be transferrable to other environments,” Lowicz said Many of the new measures are not that different from what every school is doing signs reminding students to stay six feet apart and mask requirements are all in place and the staff spent the first four weeks of school focused on ingraining these new rules into Oak Park culture Students who have sensory issues and are uncomfortable wearing a mask are building up to that by first wearing a face shield or something more comfortable In order to create more outdoor spaces where students can take a break from wearing their masks the school purchased 15 wheelchair-accessible picnic tables to go in the outdoor courtyard adjoining each classroom More in education: University of South Florida closing College of Education More: PAInT Center at USFSM receives $30,000 donation to promote diversity, equity and inclusion Recently, when workers installed the new picnic table next to Savannah Jones’ classroom, the 16-year-old could not contain her excitement. Savannah uses a wheelchair, and the new picnic table allows her to eat lunch next to Luther, her best friend in the class who uses the tablet to help him communicate. Savannah, who is in the district’s curriculum for students with severe cognitive disabilities, said she was thrilled to be back at school after five months off. She said “work” is her favorite part of school, while listing quizzes on which she had scored 100% and laughing as her teacher, Mr. Rawley, teased her.   “I don’t want to be stuck at home,” she said. When schools closed abruptly in March, parents of children with disabilities had to add home schooling to their responsibilities. At Oak Park, roughly half of the school relies on assistive technology, ranging from the iPad that Luther uses to complex sensors that help make sense of seemingly involuntary movements. School staff set up Zoom sessions to help parents use the devices for home schooling, and about 30% of the students opted to continue with remote learning once schools reopened in August. While fears about COVID-19 transmission in such a vulnerable population are real, many parents and students desperately wanted to return to the social environment that provides so many lessons. Kathryn Shea, the recently retired executive director of the Florida Center, knows how vital a routine is for children with disabilities, and how much the parents need a break. Her son, Seth Winners, 31, graduated from Oak Park. Winners has developmental delays and lives with his parents. COVID-19 has upended his life and theirs – he normally spends his days at The Haven’s residential program, but the program shut down before reopening part time in the last month. Shea said that having Seth home with her all day is extremely challenging, as he asks every day for her to tell the story of COVID-19. He fills his time with Legos, playing in the pool and taking Ninja lessons through Zoom, but he misses the structure that his program provides. “He just can’t process that the disease is here,” Shea said. “It’s just so hard for him to process that.” Being able to attend school each day is a respite for both the parents and the child, Shea said. “They can learn much faster cognitively when they feel safe and secure emotionally,” Shea said. “It is true for all of us, but it is so much more important for them because their brains function differently.” At Oak Park, a pay bump for paraprofessionals helped ensure the school was fully staffed this year, despite the challenges. And while COVID-19 has complicated life for the teachers and staff at the school, virus mitigation remains a small hurdle compared to the ones they overcome daily.   “There is not a better example of the adaptability and flexibility than what our staff does here,” Lowicz said. “It may not be perfect, and it may not be the way you want it right now, but you do what you need to do.” Oak Park, Sarasota County’s school for children with disabilities, continues to struggle to hire teachers and paraprofessionals, posting 46 total vacancies two weeks into the school year, according to data school officials reported at a Tuesday afternoon Sarasota School Board workshop. “Everybody’s looking for the same teachers from coast to coast and it is the ESE teachers,” Secondary Schools Executive Director Steve Cantees told the board, referring to exceptional student education. Oak Park Principal Jamie Lowicz said the school was working closely with a human resources specialist who was helping recruit possible candidates. The school needs 10 teachers and 36 paraprofessionals. The vacancies mean many classes are staffed with long-term subs, some of whom lack training in how to work with severely disabled children who may lash out at instructors or require physical care. The district has allocated two additional teaching positions to support an enrollment increase at the school, but those positions remain unfilled. Lowicz said that in addition to the unique challenge of attracting staff to the specialty center, Oak Park faces competition from the district’s Title I schools. Under the current contract, paraprofessionals at Title I schools are at a higher pay grade than aides at Oak Park. Superintendent Todd Bowden included a pay-step increase for Oak Park’s aides within the administration’s initial offer for the 2019-20 contract. Union leaders agree with the idea of boosting pay at Oak Park, but say that singling out a handful of employees while not including across-the-board increases for non-instructional staff could render the offer dead on arrival when it faces a vote for approval. Union Executive Director Barry Dubin sent a letter to Bowden, accepting the offer as long as the district would allow them to continue to negotiate over pay increases for other non-instructional staff. Dubin’s unusual request isn’t likely to go anywhere, board Vice Chairwoman Caroline Zucker said, since contracts are negotiated in totality and asking one side to give up a bargaining chip strips administration of bargaining leverage. The district has placed high priority on getting teachers trained in how to handle a student who is out of control. Oak Park’s instructors face some of the most challenging circumstances in the district, working with some students who regularly hit, bite or grab their teachers, and many Oak Park employees have said they do not know what they are allowed to do if a student needs to be restrained. Board attorney Art Hardy has conducted a review of Florida law to determine legal guidelines for physically restraining a student. Bowden said Hardy’s six-page brief would be condensed for teachers shortly so that staff knows “not only when they may but when they are obligated to act.” The district provided incorrect figures to the teacher’s union and Herald-Tribune earlier this year that indicated a dramatic district-wide spike in teachers being injured. The accurate figures, presented at Tuesday’s workshop, show a slight decrease across the county, but Oak Park remained one school where teacher injuries were sharply on the rise. Oak Park had a total of 94 workers compensation claims last year, an increase from 50 in 2018 and 31 in 2017. The number is not unprecedented, though. In the 2014-15 school year the school had 99 incidents. School officials have attributed the rise in claims to increased enrollment, frequently claiming that a dramatic rise in the number of students being sent to the school is the driving factor. However, Oak Park’s enrollment has remained relatively flat over the last three years, going from 308 students in 2017 to 325 last year, according to district chief financial officer Mitsi Corcoran. Chief Academic Officer Laura Kingsley said she thought the reason for the increase in injured teachers was a lack of training in Crisis Prevention Intervention, a course that teaches instructors how to “de-escalate” situations when a student may be on the verge of a violent outburst. “I wouldn’t call it a big increase in enrollment,” Kingsley said. “We did not engage in as much CPI training last year as we probably should have.” District records show that just 70 teachers received the training over the past three years, but Lowicz said Oak Park has placed top priority on getting staff trained, holding sessions over the summer and offering it monthly at the school. As of Tuesday, 110 teachers and paraprofessionals had received the training, out of the 153 at the school. The results from Sunday’s election also show that Duda’s main rival, the centrist Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, finished second with slightly over 30%. The two will next face each other in a runoff July 12 in what is shaping up as a suspenseful and competitive race. Poland’s state electoral commission announced the results of the election on Monday morning based on a count of 99.78% of all votes. The final results could differ slightly. It is a slightly better result for Duda than was predicted by an exit poll Sunday evening, which had him at nearly 42%. It reflects the popularity he has among many conservative and rural Poles for the mix of social conservatism and generous welfare spending espoused by him and the ruling party that backs him, Law and Justice. Nine other candidates who ran in the first round have now been eliminated. World & Nation LGBT rights are emerging as an issue in Poland’s presidential campaign, with incumbent President Andrzej Duda calling it more harmful than communism. As Duda and Trzaskowski hit the campaign trail again Monday, they will be vying for the votes of those other candidates. Up for grabs will be the supporters of Szymon Holownia, a progressive Catholic nonaligned candidate who won nearly 14% of the votes, as well as a far-right lawmaker, Krzysztof Bosak, who had nearly 7%. Many of Holownia’s voters are expected to support Trzaskowski but there is a bigger question about where Bosak’s voters will turn. The state electoral commission said its nearly complete vote shows Duda with 43.67%; Trzaskowski with 30.34%; Holownia with 13.85% and Bosak with 6.75%. California Hollywood Inc. Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map Sep 13, 2020 | Society A priest being investigated for alleged child sex abuse was allowed to continue working including teaching children in a public school for eight years after the accusations were made The Vatican has now ordered the curia in question to open an investigation into possible negligence by its bishop who is accused of failing to report abuse in accordance with church guidelines and Polish law The episode is the latest in a series of allegations of abuse by clergy in Poland as well as claims that the issue has not been treated seriously by the church hierarchy or even has been covered up the pope ordered another Polish bishop accused of hiding abuse to be relieved of his duties Pope orders Polish bishop accused of covering up sex abuse to be relieved of duty that he had been sexually abused as a 13-year-old by two priests (whose surnames are concealed under Polish law) because both priests had denied the accusations had informed the bishop of abuse by the same two priests It appears no action was taken against the priests in response indicated that bishops in Łowicz had known about accusations of child sex abuse by Piotr S Ujawniamy. Biskupi Orszulik i Dziuba przez 25 lat kryli księdza pedofila @Dlfli @s_klauzinski @JoankaSW https://t.co/lkcdTXyXhj pic.twitter.com/8cQ1RLv2K8 — OKO.press (@oko_press) August 27, 2020 bishops are obliged to alert the Vatican if they have reasonable suspicions of sexual abuse by a member of the clergy This process should take a matter of weeks but the Łowicz curia reportedly did not reply to Janusz’s emails for months and the Vatican did not acknowledge the matter until 2014 Only in 2015 was a canonical investigation ordered director of the Polish episcopate’s child protection office says that the investigation is now in the “final stage” and “soon documents will be forwarded to the [Vatican’s] Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith” Catholic church in Poland promotes helpline for victims of clerical sex abuse was in 2016 promoted to become the parish priest for a rural village between Warsaw and Łódź In his role, he taught catechism classes at the local school, at the request of Bishop Dziuba. (In Poland, a majority of children attend Catholic catechism classes which are held in and funded by the public school system but with teachers and curriculums chosen by the church.) Janusz notified prosecutors about the alleged abuse The investigation remains ongoing and Jarosław W Separate proceedings are also being conducted regarding the failure of Bishop Dziuba to notify prosecutors A change to the law in 2017 made failing to report sexual offences against a minor punishable by up to three years in prison Poland’s “biggest ever” trial of alleged paedophile priest begins In a recent meeting with Dziuba that Janusz secretly recorded the bishop claimed that he had not received instructions from the Vatican to remove the priest from duty under guidelines issued by the Polish episcopate in 2015 a bishop is not only entitled to remove priests accused of sexual crimes without instructions from the Vatican This is supposed to happen at the “stage of the preliminary proceedings” and continue during any subsequent formal canonical process who admits that he “cannot explain why such preventative measures were not applied in this particular case” OKO.press attended a special mass that Jarosław W delivered for children in years 1 to 3 of school When the outlet sought to interview him afterwards the priest said that there was “a witch hunt” against him A local man who works at the church told OKO.press that the priest “does a lot for children” such as “organising trips” for school pupils and altar boys Only since OKO.press published its investigation on 6 September has Jarosław W the provincial education board confirmed that they would no longer allow the priest to work with children Łowicz curia announced that it too had taken “preventative measures” against Jarosław W. including removing him from office and prohibiting him from conducting services It has ordered a new investigation to be made into the lengthy and so far unconcluded canonical process against Jarosław W To ensure “transparency and impartiality” this has been entrusted to a delegate from outside the diocese a separate investigation has been launched into “the possible negligence of the Bishop of Łowicz in handling cases of molestation of minors by some clergy of his diocese” Polish bishops call for “clinics to help LGBT people regain natural sexual orientation” As Poland’s Catholic church has become engulfed in controversy over its handling of child sex abuse the Vatican has taken a growing interest in the situation whom Pope Francis has entrusted with leading investigations into sexual abuse by Catholic clergy visited Poland to speak about the issue with the country’s bishops but in response simply moved him from parish to parish Documentary on priestly paedophilia and cover-ups prompts swift response from Poland’s Catholic church Following a string of such accusations in recent years, a recent opinion poll found that public trust in the Catholic church has declined more than for any other major institution in Poland In response, the Polish episcopate has sought to show that it is taking the issue seriously. It has offered support for victims and established a new new Child Protection Office to address past failings said that he “apologised to all those who have been harmed” by priests and expressed hope that recent painful revelations would “contribute to further compliance with the guidelines for the protection of children in the church” Yet Gądecki has himself faced claims that he does not take the issue seriously enough. Earlier this year, it emerged that his Poznań diocese had re-hired a former priest found guilty of sexual abuse just one month earlier in internal church proceedings Last year, Gądecki’s diocese planned to entomb a former archbishop accused of sexual abuse in Poznań cathedral Only after intense criticism – including from within the church – was the burial moved to a parish cemetery At the Polish episcopate’s plenary meeting last month, Gądecki expressed regret that “sad cases of paedophilia and homosexuality…sometimes seem to overshadow all the good resulting from the priestly mission” Man removed from priesthood over child sex abuse reemployed in diocese a month later Main image credit: Rafal Michalowski/Agencja Gazeta Juliette Bretan is a freelance journalist covering Polish and Eastern European current affairs and culture Her work has featured on the BBC World Service , , Karol Nawrocki even suggested that the state security services were involved in creating the scandal , , The 1,200 square metre national symbol was unfurled on the beach in Międzyzdroje , , The proportion of Poles saying the US has a positive influence on the world has also fallen to its lowest recorded level Apr 30, 2025 | , , , That response will include “large Polish and NATO exercises in Poland” Apr 29, 2025 | , , , Those employed in Poland work on average the third-longest hours in the European Union Apr 28, 2025 | , , , , Westinghouse and Bechtel were first chosen in 2022 as partners on the 192 billion zloty ($51 billion) project please consider helping us to continue and expand it [email protected] Copyright © 2025 Notes From Poland | Design jurko studio | Code by 2sides.pl Senior Research Fellow at the Global Europe Centre ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Weronika Strzyżyńska is currently studying journalism at Goldsmiths as a Scott Trust Bursary recipient She  has written on issues immigration and Brexit for New Statesman and Prospect Agnieszka Wądołowska is managing editor of Notes from Poland She has previously worked for Gazeta.pl and Tokfm.pl and contributed to Gazeta Wyborcza ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland and assistant professor of history at the Pedagogical University of Krakow He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications The Independent and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Stanley Bill is the founder and editor-at-large of Notes from Poland.He is also Senior Lecturer in Polish Studies and Director of the Polish Studies Programme at the University of Cambridge Stanley has spent more than ten years living in Poland He founded Notes from Poland in 2014 as a blog dedicated to personal impressions cultural analysis and political commentary He is committed to the promotion of deeper knowledge and understanding of Poland He is the Chair of the Board of the Notes from Poland Foundation ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Professor of European Studies at Oxford University ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Professor at the Institute of History of the Jagiellonian University ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Executive Director of Taube Family Foundation ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Associate Professor at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Science ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Photographer Valeria Luongo’s long-term project explores the daily life of nuns at the Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary convent in Rome It was born out of a fascination with the women who choose to eschew conventional modes of living and what happens in their tight-knit community I began what was to become a long-term project exploring the lives of nuns in the Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary convent in Rome My interest was focused on stories of people who live “radical” lives those who decide to exist outside standard modes of living and make choices that influence their entire way of being and see nuns going about their daily lives Though they are a common sight in the city their existence within the walls of the convent had remained relatively obscured from public view And what is life like inside their community With more than 750 female religious institutes based in the city Rome was the ideal location to find answers to these questions nuns and novices reenact the Passion of the Christ; right: after more than 20 years working as a nun mainly in Bogotá Sister Martha is now being sent to Albania Ravasco nuns chat with young Catholic girls who have been sent by their families to study in Rome The community I visited for more than three years is also known as Sisters Ravasco House in honour of its founder, Eugenia Ravasco, and it is famous for its commitment toward pedagogy. Sister Ravasco convents can be found all over the world, though its main headquarters is in Rome, near the Vatican The community is composed of approximately 20 women of various nationalities Some have spent the majority of their lives in the community who is in her 80s and started her process to become a nun when she was 13 The community becomes the principal family of these women because once they join they are permitted to visit their relatives only once a year if they are Italian If a nun is from a foreign country they can visit family once every three years Sister Pina shows novices photos of the Easter Passion These women must learn how to adapt and live together Many have never left their towns before joining the convent and now they have suddenly found themselves living intimately with people from different countries and of various ages Those who are physically able are moved to different headquarters around the world approximately every two to three years sometimes in countries in which they do not speak the language Elderly nuns are more likely to remain in the same convent and then retire to a specific house in the mountains of Abruzzo where they will spend the rest of their lives Sister Odilla shows photos of her youth as a nun She joined the convent when she was 13 and is now in her 80s Sisters Annunziatina and Erminia read in the meeting hall Sister Erminia and Sister Pina in the community car on their commute to feed the homeless a Colombian nun in her 40s who was staying in Rome while awaiting her new documents to move to Albania after more than 20 years of living in the Ravasco convent in Colombia Martha was worried as she could not speak Albanian and she knew she would have to pass through a process of integration Łowicz, Poland An intense moment of prayer with Catholic devotees and nuns from across the world Right: Italians celebrating mass in Łowicz during World Catholic Youth Week in 2016 I wanted to understand the different activities the nuns performed beyond prayer and how their typical day was shaped pray and then begin their individual routines Everyone within the community has a specific role one who takes care of the expenses and the administrative issues The nuns would take time each day to ensure they have performed their particular individual role while also performing their daily communal activities every Thursday they all meet for a discussion Above: Sister Francesca poses in the wooden village of Maurzysce Francesca was one of the youngest nuns inside the community she abandoned the community to return to a secular life Below: Nuns in Łowicz play basketball with a group of young Catholics Sometimes they practise sports together or with other people related to the church In 2016, the nuns attended World Youth Week, a festival for young people organised by the Catholic church that takes place every two to three years. They were excited by the idea of travelling outside Italy and meeting people from all over the world That year the festival took place in Poland and more than 3 millions pilgrims celebrated the event The week was filled with a series of religious meetings and group activities that concluded with the Pope’s public appearance in Kraków this was a rare chance to spend time away from their strict routine “The best thing was to walk around and meet people from everywhere Even if we couldn’t speak the same language we were all there for the same purpose and it was good to stay together,” said Sister Francesca the nuns took the opportunity to interact with young people and other nuns from around the world Nuns are obliged to wear their ecclesiastic clothes at all times The only time they do not wear their tunics is when they are sleeping As the years passed and I became more familiar with the intricate details of the nuns lives I started to see beyond the surface level – a life characterised by prayer and strict routine – and gained a deeper understanding of their journey the women cast aside their individual desires and begin to live a communal collectivist life based on a shared devotion to God the responsibility and motivation for being there always lies with the individual each nun must present a written report that underlines their desire and motivation to continue living in the community If the nun understands that she no longer wants to continue on that path she will return to the secular life after a process of consultation with the Mother Superior Sister Beatriz celebrates her 30th birthday I met only one nun who chose to interrupt her religious path When I asked her about this choice she said: “I would repeat the experience of being a nun personally and as a human and I learnt how to see things from a different perspective I learned how to see the deepest aspects of human life the ones you don’t normally stop to notice.” that of women helping and supporting each other seems to be a source of strength to continue this journey While almost 98% of the Polish population identify themselves as ethnic Poles thousands of others call the country home as well The Polish census of 2011 found that 1.44% of the 39 million Polish people are descendants of different ancestry The major ethnic minorities groups recognized by the Polish government are the Germans 39.5% of the majority of the ethnic minorities lives in Salesian Recognized minorities in Poland take a 0.3% of the total population and are of a single ethnicity The Belorussians are the second largest ethnic minority group in Poland with a population of about 37,000 despite claims that the number maybe 3 or 4 times higher. Most of them live in Podlaskie Voivodeship and the active assimilation process to the Polish culture in the recent decades facilitated the decline. In the late 18th century, Poland took control of some eastern territories of Ruthenians During this period many of the people were Polonized and lost the Belarusian identity By 1921 under the Second Polish Republic their number was more 1 million They had political influence largely in the lower chamber of the Polish Council Schools operating entirely in The Belarusian language opened up but since the government failed to support them The lack of support from the central government led to years of oppression by the Polish government with no policy of protecting the minorities The Polish aligned with the Nazi rule in Belarus regions while the Soviet Union executed the war refugees The presence of Ukrainians dates back to the late middle ages. At this time Poland ruled the Galicia and Western Volhynia, which the Ukrainian occupied. The Polish dynasty introduced the Ruthenian culture and oppressed the Orthodox faith. For years the Ukrainians were oppressed and forced to assimilate the Polish way of life. This annexation of Ukraine regions facilitated Polanization Today the relationship between the Ukrainians and the Poles is way calmer the Polish government has restricted migration of the minorities group in the region the Ukrainians have easy access to immigration permits though their number is about 36,000 This minority ethnic group has faced a difficult time in Poland the Lemko were forced to identify as either Ukrainian or Polish and the Lemko identified as Ukrainian cooperatives leading to massive depopulation of villages hence scattering the Lemko The scattering of the Lemko led to culture loss Fear of ridicule of identifying as a Lemko facilitated the loss of culture The fact that the community was once torn between two nationalities led to a lack of a national self-identity; the Polish assimilated them quickly the Commonwealth Poland protects the rights of its citizens The different ethnic groups coexist peacefully with each other photos and original descriptions © 2025 worldatlas.com A single-line railway track from Łowicz to Łódź in central Poland is reducing commuter times and connecting new businesses we’ve been able to cut commuter times and are connecting new businesses For the residents of the central Polish region of  Łódzkie the lack of reliable train service has been an ongoing obstacle From commuting to the next town to travelling across the country bus or bike – or a combination of all three As part of an initiative to create a better-connected transport system the region has started developing a single-track railway line that runs between Łowicz and Zgierz This project focused on track number three a 47 km stretch of track that leaves from Stryków station 12 sets of turnouts (used to guide trains from one track to another) were replaced trains can now travel at a speed of 90 km/h this means the trip from Łowicz to the Łódź Kaliska station has been cut in half – from over two hours to one hour This is great news for the many people who commute between one of the 11 towns served by the route: Łowicz with the creation of the Łódź Agglomeration Railway will have a substantial impact on the region’s economic development With the addition of the soon-to-be-complete line 15 which will connect with line three at Zgierz and offer service to Bednary the region expects to see a boost not only in passenger traffic the rail will be extremely beneficial to the many industrial sites being established along the still-to-be-built A1 highway.  the north-south A1 will connect much of central Poland running from Gdańsk through Łódź and its Upper Silesian industry area to the Czech border at which point it connects to Czech motorway D1 The 565.1 km route is part of the European E75 route Total investment for the project “Modernization of the railway line No 15 on the Bednary - Zgierz section together with the construction of the link to the airport Reymonta - stage I reconstruction of the railway surface on the section Łowicz - Zgierz” is EUR 15 296 898 with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 8 158 346 through the “Łódzkie” Operational Programme for the 2007-2013 programming period The investment falls under the priority “Transport infrastructure” PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe Spółka Akcyjna (Polish Railway Lines) Archbishop Andrzej Józwowicz Posted to Iran Currently Serving as Apostolic Nuncio in Rwanda The Holy Father Francis appointed Archbishop Andrzej Józwowicz, the current Apostolic Nuncio in Rwanda, and the Apostolic Nuncio in Iran Archbishop Andrzej Józwowicz was born in Boćki (Diocese of Drohiczyn) on January 14 he graduated from the Major Metropolitan Seminary in Warsaw and was ordained a priest on May 24 He obtained a master’s degree in theology in the seminary After the creation of the Łowicz diocese on March 25 he was sent to Rome for specialist studies by Bishop While studying at the Utriusque Iuris faculty of the Lateran University in Rome in 1995 he began parallel studies and formation at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy “forge of future diplomats” of the Holy See In June 1997 he obtained a doctorate in both laws from the Pontifical Lateran University he started working in the diplomatic service of the Holy See working successively in missions in Mozambique also a canon of the cathedral chapter of Łowicz the Holy Father Francis appointed him Apostolic Nuncio in Rwanda at the same time elevating him to the title of titular archbishop of Lauriaco Conclave 2025: More Voters Than Ever to Elect Francis’ Successor On the Road to the Conclave: The Church Prepares to Elect the New Pope on May 7 What are the Congregations before the Conclave Tweets by Pontifex A dramatic short film giving a glimpse into the rewarding work of a paramedic at London Ambulance Service is being released today Marek Lowicz-Brady features in the six-minute film which sees him working as a solo paramedic in a fast response car He was followed by a film crew from car manufacturer Ford for a busy day and night shift giving viewers an insight into life on the frontline in the capital Marek said: “Being able to help in a crisis is what makes it different to other medical roles “You never know what you’re going to attend and working as a solo paramedic you’re reliant on your own decision-making You are exposed to a lot of very rapidly-changing and dynamic scenes.” Marek is called to a stabbing in Whitehall saving the life of a man who is very seriously injured He is also sent to a man found slumped in a telephone box and suspected of having suffered a heart attack compassion and clinical skills needed to be a paramedic in London He said: “We do have people’s lives in our hands with the decisions we are making and I see that as an enormous privilege and the weight of that is not lost on me “The rewards you get from this job: there’s nothing else like it Knowing you can make such a huge impact on people and make a difference to someone’s physical health their psychiatric health or a crisis they might be in.” is the car Marek is driving: a new electric Mustang Mach-E The fleet team at LAS has bought 42 of the iconic cars as part of its ambition to cut carbon emissions said: “We want to have the lowest carbon-emitting fleet of emergency vehicles that we can and these Ford Mustangs are an integral part of how we are going to do that “I believe we have the largest fleet of electric vehicles in any emergency service in the UK “Having cleaner and greener vehicles is extremely important in improving air quality – not just for our people and our patients – but also for the health of our communities across London.” The battery life of a Mustang can cover more than 300 miles meaning they can easily cover a 12-hour shift on a single charge That means paramedics like Marek can spend more time on the road saving lives If you would like a career with London Ambulance Service, you can find our vacancies and opportunities here This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time Sandomierz is a beautiful little town in south-eastern Poland surrounded by apple orchards and verdant green fields As we walked along the streets that were once Jewish streets this group of American and Australian Jews to suggest that the Jews of Sandomierz had a history going back hundreds of years but still there were people on the streets I saw trays piled with an array of kielbasa - Polish sausage - and on the counter what looked like jars of pickled cucumbers and I wondered for a moment whether the kielbasa and the cucumbers would taste like the sausage and the cucumbers of my Melbourne childhood Michael Gawenda's parents (at right) on their wedding day in Lodz in 1925 who were both murdered during the Holocaust in these well-kept and pastel-coloured apartment buildings I wondered whether they knew what had happened to the people who once lived here and did the ghosts of the dead Jews ever come to disturb their sleep I had not come to Poland to reclaim the past I had been to Poland in 1985 when the communists were still in control I came as a journalist and I met Solidarity leaders and leaders of the Polish democracy movement There was nothing to suggest that this had once been the home of millions of Jews the point from which hundreds of thousands of Jews were deported to death camps from the Warsaw ghetto in the summer of 1942.Credit: Getty Images we were greeted by the principal who ushered us into the staffroom On the table were plates of Polish biscuits and small cakes I knew the taste of these biscuits and these cakes the students we had come to see were waiting for us They were holding posters and folios stuffed with papers and some of them were using their phones to take photos of us They were 16 and 17 years old and when they stood together at the front of their classrooms in front of the portraits of Polish patriots who had fought for Polish freedom from the Russian and German occupiers who had divided Poland between them for centuries I wondered how their parents and their grandparents regarded the long-vanished Jews of Sandomierz On them were drawn maps of the streets where the Jews of their town had once lived Some of the posters were photographs of buildings that had once been Jewish communal centres Some of the kids leafed through bound folios of typed interviews with local people about the Jews of Sandomierz Gawenda's family in Melbourne in the 1950s with the author sitting on his mother's knee.Credit: courtesy of Michael Gawenda These young people were full of a sort of defiant and boisterous joy the sort that comes from discovering something that had been hidden from you we walked with them through their town and they took us to the new markers of Jewish life in Sandomierz that I had thought did not exist They stood in the rain to show us the places they had marked on their maps where the Jews had once lived these boys and girls unburdened by guilt or shame where they had searched out the names of the Jews of their town This building had once been the synagogue of Sandomierz and on the walls were what I thought were psalms in faded Hebrew lettering The kids took photographs on their phones and when perhaps I looked too grim a boy asked me to smile and I did smile and the stone in my heart felt smaller The rain came down harder on the walk to the little Jewish cemetery and in the centre of the cemetery there stood a sort of monument shaped like a pyramid that was constructed of old tombstones The kids had cleaned the tombstones and they had cleared the weeds from the paths A girl called Agata came and stood beside me and asked if I would like to light a remembrance candle with her She had a broad Polish face and a nice smile and perhaps I was just imagining this we knew that we were both connected to this place We stood together in front of a moss-covered grave at the café where we ate local apples and the cakes the kids had baked for us Agata asked me how come I understood some Polish words I told her my parents had spoken Polish when I was a child and they didn't want me to understand what they were saying "Where did they come from?" she asked I told her my mother was from Lodz and my father from a small town called Lowicz "So you are Polish,'' she said whose families lived in Poland for many generations It was not just the years of genocide that had embittered them distorted - their view of Poles and Polish anti-Semitism "I guess I am Polish in a way,'' I said "Do you think I am Polish?'' I asked hundreds of kids are working on projects like the one in Sandomierz I wondered what would last from these discoveries for these children who once had no inkling that Jews had lived in their towns Their parents had never spoken to them about the Jews of their town The communist regime had been determined to rid Poles of any memory of the country's Jews with the kids of Sandomierz somehow accompanying me I thought that the past cannot be undone but perhaps it can be reclaimed I had left Poland in 1985 sure that I would never return but when the invitation came last year for me to come back for a week-long forum in Poland on Polish-Jewish relations I went with my history and with a sort of dread that I would be forced to spend a week visiting graveyards and Holocaust monuments and discussing the possibility of a dialogue between living Poles and dead Polish Jews The Forum for Dialogue Among the Nations is a small organisation run by a group of Poles in their 30s who for the past decade or so have been working to get Poles and Jews of Polish origin talking to each other given the troubled and tortured post-war relationship between Poles and Jews The Holocaust obliterated a thousand years of Jewish history in Poland all that remained alive of that history were the years of genocide during World War II But there have been changes since the demise of the communist regime There are now Jewish Studies departments in every major Polish university There are courses in the history of Polish Jewry one of the courses offers Yiddish and Yiddish literature It is run by a Polish woman in her 30s who has studied all the major works of Poland's Yiddish writers there are small but growing Jewish communities there's a new Jewish primary school of several hundred children but all the children are taught Jewish history and they celebrate the Jewish religious festivals The Forum receives a small grant from the Polish foreign office and it has received donations mainly from American Jews and from a couple of Jewish philanthropic organisations for its work It would be fair to say that it is not a major recipient of Jewish support Yet those young Poles have managed to run the schools program and have brought dozens of Jews from America and Israel - and a few from Australia - to Poland for a week of school visits I could not work out what motivated this group of young Poles neither their fellow Poles nor the Jews of Polish origin that they hope to reach have any interest in talking to each other Zuzanna Radzik is 28 years old and is a leader of the forum She is a theologian and a deeply committed Catholic when she was just out of school and about to start her theology studies at Warsaw University she noticed one day that in the basement of her church including the notorious forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion Zuzanna went to see the church's senior priest She was surprised to find that he knew what was being sold in the bookshop but argued that the church had no control over what books were sold by the owner She complained to the officials of the Warsaw Diocese and when she was fobbed off with the excuse that the church was powerless to act against the bookshop she wrote to the Catholic Primate of Poland and demanded an audience She managed to get an audience with his assistant "Nothing was done,'' she told me My parents found it hard to understand what I was doing Those books sitting there in the basement of my church Zuzanna campaigned for the bookshop to be closed She wrote articles for a liberal Catholic monthly about the bookshop and about Pope John Paul II's teaching about anti-Semitism After five years of protest and campaigning Zuzanna spoke of that time as if she had no choice but to protest and campaign because her faith compelled her to act: the Catholic Church should never turn a blind eye to anti-Semitism also travelled with me and I realised that Poland often felt familiar In Warsaw and Kraków and the small towns I visited I felt as if I knew these places and I knew these people They looked like my parents and my sisters had looked more than a half century ago I spent one Friday night at the Jewish Community Centre in Kraków in the middle of Kraków's old town centre I was there for the Friday night Sabbath meal and I sang a song with an old man who cried as he sang but tears ran down his cheeks and his hand that was resting on my arm trembled as he sang for his voice was lovely and his Yiddish was the Yiddish of my childhood and I could hear my father singing He had been surprised that I could speak Yiddish and he insisted that I sing with him Perhaps 100 people had come for the start of Shabes and they had brought with them their children and their babies had only recently discovered that they had Jewish ancestors and they were on a journey without a clear destination The tables were covered in white tablecloths and we ate a Shabes meal of herring and good rye bread and then kasha - roasted buckwheat - and stewed meat A young man delivered an exposition of the week's Torah portion with flair and the sort of theatricality that reminded me of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof some of the older people closed their eyes and hummed along but it felt like we were taking them back to the annihilated world of their childhoods it has come to encapsulate the world of pre-war Polish Jewry when there were almost 3 1/2 million Jews in Poland and more than 10 per cent of the Polish population was Jewish Poland had the largest Jewish population of any country in the world a third or more of the population were Jews More than three million Polish Jews were murdered during World War II Most of them were gassed in the Nazi death camps in Poland: in Chelmno and Treblinka and Sobibor and Belzec and Auschwitz-Birkenau Most of the 300,000 Jews who survived had fled to the Soviet Union before the conquering Germans were able to seal off the Jews in ghettoes from which they were eventually transported to the death camps mother and their two daughters fled Lodz and spent the war in the Soviet Union I hired a car and drove the 260 kilometres to Lowicz the town where my father was born and where he spent his childhood It was a particularly mild late autumn for Poland and there was sunshine and the fields were green and many fields were planted with rows of cabbages I wondered whether my father had ever travelled this road when he came back to Lowicz from Lodz to visit his sister They lived in Lodz after they were married and my sisters were born there Lowicz is a town of wide streets and cobbled lanes and it has two large and impressive town squares and an imposing Gothic cathedral just around the corner from the streets that were once Jewish streets and where the Lowicz ghetto was established by the Nazis Of the town's 23,000 inhabitants in 1939 19th-century buildings that have been nicely renovated and there are clothing boutiques and pizza parlours and Asian restaurants my father lived with his older sister and their parents My father was a member of the Lowicz landsmanshaft (society) in Melbourne and he dragged me along every year to the Holocaust commemoration evening organised by the committee of the landsmanshaft but each poem expressed one of the numberless horrors to which the Jews of Lowicz - along with all the Jews of Poland - had been subjected His sister and her husband and their eight-year-old daughter did not escape From the ghetto in Lowicz they were removed and from there sent to their death at Treblinka and in the cobbled lanes I noticed there were coffee shops and little bars and the music was the music of everywhere in this digital age but I found a small Polish restaurant and I ordered herring and vodka and rye bread and cabbage soup with pieces of smoked meat and then I had tea with lemon and a slice of poppy seed cake one of the forum's leading lights and a lecturer in Holocaust studies at Warsaw University came to take me to meet the mayor of Lowicz Jakub was a passionate man in his early 30s Jakub was born and grew up in Lowicz and was eager for me to meet the mayor who was once his high-school history teacher and was still his mentor greeted me formally in his office and we sat at a table near a window that overlooked the main town square He told me that several years ago he had convinced the council to erect a monument near the site where thousands of slave labourers - Poles Russians and Jews - had been brought by the Nazis to divert the river on the town's outskirts because it regularly flooded Many of them had died of disease and starvation I asked the mayor why he'd fought for the monument the mayor said that his wife had Jewish ancestors and that while she was a committed Catholic Jakub took me to the Lowicz archives office a man I thought old enough to have lived in Lowicz pre-war had set down on a desk for me a pile of fading brown folders and he sat with me as we leafed through every folder of some of the Lowiczer that my father knew in Melbourne was a register of everyone who lived at 35 Zdumska Street between 1880 and 1920 and there was my father's name and his date of birth - October 24 1900 - and there was his father's name - Moishe - and his father's occupation - he was a tailor - and there was recorded the fact that my father came back from Lodz for a month to visit at 35 Zdumska Street when he was 22 There was a record of his army number and the battalion in which he served My father had never mentioned the fact that he had served in the Polish army There was something almost magical about the handwriting the letters light on the upstroke and firm on the down and for several moments it felt as if my father had come alive - his childhood resurrected It was an hour's drive from Lowicz to Lodz I found myself singing a Yiddish lullaby by Mordechai Gebirtig the greatest of all the Polish Yiddish songwriters When my father and mother and sisters lived there full of textile factories - some of which were owned by Jews More than a third of the city's population of 600,000 was Jewish and mostly the Jews worked in the textile mills or set themselves up with a couple of machines at home and wove carpets of the finest quality I was there to catch a glimpse of its past The people in the archives office were eager to help me find the street My sister had once described the house for me with its communal courtyard and large wooden windows and the narrow staircase leading up to their home And so I walked up and down that street and looked for signs that might reveal the house and the courtyard and the narrow staircase leading to .. Would I then climb those stairs and knock on the door Would I say to whoever opened the door that my family once lived here That when they returned to Lodz from the Soviet Union when the war ended their house was occupied by some of their former neighbours who did not exactly welcome them I was told that the street where my family lived had been a major thoroughfare of the Lodz Ghetto in which the 230,000 Jews of Lodz were sealed off shortly after the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 Most of the Jews were gassed in the Chelmno death camp or were taken by cattle trucks to Auschwitz where some of the young people who were able to work survived the war I knew little about my mother's family I knew that my mother and her sisters and brothers worked in a sock factory and that they were skilled in their trade I knew that my mother never went to school that she could barely read and that she couldn't write I knew that she couldn't speak Polish There was no trace of my mother or her family in the archives I walked to the Jewish cemetery that was a half-hour walk away from the street where my family had lived The cemetery was vast and in the heavy fog it seemed to go on forever The paths leading off the main cemetery road were dew-covered the dead leaves soaked and slippery and the trees were dead stunted - it seemed to me - by the burden of the past with their classical columns and domes and hand-painted ceilings the resting places of the Jewish textile magnates of Lodz I did not want to end in this cemetery in Lodz the place in Warsaw where the Nazis assembled the Jews of the Ghetto and where the Jews waited to be loaded into the cattle trucks that would transport them to Treblinka and Auschwitz stands the new Museum of the History of Polish Jews its gentle curves and pale glass panels suggesting a living but large in its dreaming and in its ambition The museum was opened recently but its core exhibition covering a thousand years of Jewish history in Poland It will be officially opened this September It is a 200-metre walk from the umschlagplatz monument with its tombstone-like walls on which there are names of some of those who were once assembled here to the museum which no doubt will memorialise that assembly point and that time of annihilation but that will only be part of the narrative of the Jews of Poland I was aware of the almost fragile beauty of this building It made me think of what the Yiddish Nobel Prize-winning writer Isaac Bashevis Singer once said about Yiddish and Yiddish culture that it captured a "frightened and hopeful humanity" Poland will always be a place of darkness for Jews with the lukewarm rays of the sun illuminating the glass panels the museum felt like a place of fragile but determined optimism I thought of the children of Sandomierz and I thought of Zuzanna and her campaign against the bookshop in the basement of her church who referred to me as a fellow landsmann of Lowicz and I thought about how the story of a thousand years of Polish Jewish history did not have to end in a cemetery at the caf\\u00E9 where we ate local apples and the cakes the kids had baked for us I told her my parents had spoken Polish when I was a child and they didn't want me to understand what they were saying \\\"Where did they come from?\\\" she asked \\\"I guess I am Polish in a way,'' I said The communist regime had been determined to rid Poles of any memory of the country's Jews It is run by a Polish woman in her 30s who has studied all the major works of Poland's Yiddish writers there's a new Jewish primary school of several hundred children Zuzanna went to see the church's senior priest She wrote articles for a liberal Catholic monthly about the bookshop and about Pope John Paul II's teaching about anti-Semitism In Warsaw and Krak\\u00F3w and the small towns I visited I spent one Friday night at the Jewish Community Centre in Krak\\u00F3w in the middle of Krak\\u00F3w's old town centre A young man delivered an exposition of the week's Torah portion In big cities like Warsaw and Krak\\u00F3w one of the forum's leading lights and a lecturer in Holocaust studies at Warsaw University on the town's outskirts because it regularly flooded I asked the mayor why he'd fought for the monument and there was my father's name and his date of birth - October 24 1900 - and there was his father's name - Moishe - and his father's occupation - he was a tailor - and there It was an hour's drive from Lowicz to Lodz More than a third of the city's population of 600,000 was Jewish and mostly the Jews worked in the textile mills or that she could barely read and that she couldn't write that it captured a \\\"frightened and hopeful humanity\\\" is on display at the National Museum of Korea’s exhibition “Polish Art: AnEnduring Spirit” through Aug / Courtesy of National Museum of Korea National museum displays Polish artworks from Chopin to CopernicusBy Baek Byung-yeul Poland is the birthplace of renowned figures such as astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus virtuoso pianist Frederic Chopin and Pope Saint John Paul II it seems to be a distant and relatively unknown country but Poland shares similarities with Korea as the two have developed their indigenous culture over thousands of years while being invaded by neighboring powers the state-run National Museum of Korea (NMK) began on Friday a three-month exhibition displaying splendid Polish artworks Poland is well-known for Copernicus and Chopin but the country has maintained its unique identity while embracing the diverse cultures of neighboring nations despite recurring warfare and foreign aggression,” Kim Young-na director-general of the NMK said at an opening ceremony of the Polish art exhibition at the museum in Seoul “As there have been few chances in Korea to enjoy its history and culture we are presenting more than 250 artworks comprised of paintings Entitled “Polish Art: An enduring Spirit,” the exhibition showcases Polish art from the 15th to the 20th centuries including Chopin’s original score and materials related to Copernicus the exhibition consists of five parts ― “Medieval Art,” “Art in the Sarmatian Age,” “Art as The Kingdom of the Spirit,” “Art of the Young Poland Period” and “Polish Art in the 20th Century.” visitors will likely be in a solemn mood as the first part showcases paintings and sculptures that were used for decorating churches in the middle ages “The Medieval art of Poland has a religious theme as those artworks were produced in order to be used in churches,” Kim Seung-ik Visitors can see a part of Copernicus’ original handwriting of “On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres.” The book which was published in 1543 just before his death in which the earth and the other planets that revolve around the sun are at the center of the solar system The most striking item in the exhibition would probably be Jan Matejko’s 1872 work “Stefan Batory at Pskov.” considered as one of the most influential Polish artists for his works featuring notable historical figures from his homeland has a painting measuring 322 centimeters in width and 545 centimeters in height of Stefan Batory (1533-1586) He was a Hungarian prince from Transylvania and became king of Poland in 1576 by marrying the Polish queen Anna Jagiellonka This painting describes the war the king waged with Moscow from 1579 to 1581 Chopin’s hand-written musical manuscript of "Mazurka in E Major 3" is also on display at the end of the third section The fourth section of the exhibition highlights the artwork produced during the “Young Poland” period artists defined their efforts as “young” and “new,” and distanced themselves from conventional ways of producing art The last section features modern artworks produced after 1918 the year Poland regained its independence from Russia The museum is located near exit 4 of Ichon Station Tickets cost 13,000 won for adults who are over 24 years old 11,000 won for students ranging from middle school to college students 6,000 won for people over 65 years old or older and 5,000 won for children This website uses cookies to improve and promote our services. By continuing to use this website you are agreeing to our Cookie policy. 1932 by Nachum Tim Gidal is among the images in Memories of Jewish Poland: The 1932 Photographs of Nachum Tim Gidal was flipping through a copy of Hadassah Magazine in 1991 when he came across a photo that struck him The black-and-white image depicts a man lying against the mausoleum of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai under a full moon Wosk was preparing for a sabbatical in Jerusalem when he stumbled upon the snapshot which led to a lasting friendship and a death-bed promise “When I saw that photograph with the moon in the background I felt I was looking at a picture of myself taken before I was born,” Wosk tells Stir “It’s in one of my favourite places in Israel I felt that the photograph had touched me directly That’s why I tore it out from the magazine and took it with me [to Jerusalem] I really wanted to find the photographer.” Born Ignaz Nachum Gidalewitsch in Munich in 1909 he had an influential decades-long career as a photojournalist with works appearing in newspapers and magazines throughout Europe Gidal was 23 when he went on his first trip abroad to visit relatives and to see “exotic” Eastern Jews he was the chief staff reporter for Parade Wosk eventually made contact with the legendary photographer near the end of his sabbatical He had nearly given up when he saw an ad on a lamppost for a store called Silver Print Gallery and Archive She knew him personally and offered to make an introduction Wosk and Gidal became fast friends and stayed in close touch; over ensuing years Wosk would end up purchasing the finest and largest collection of Gidal’s photography in the world outside of Israel the eccentric artist requested that Wosk publish a specific set of images—the ones from his Polish sojourn Memories of Jewish Poland: The 1932 Photographs of Nachum Tim Gidal is the result Wosk will launch the book in a Prologue event of the Cherie Smith JCC Jewish Book Festival and Chile in a mix of limited-capacity in-person events and virtual happenings Wosk will join Alan Twigg in conversation from the JCC’s Zack Gallery for the virtual release on February 11 education and nature and heritage conservation. He curated and wrote the preface for the hardcover book published in collaboration by Gefen Publishing House in Jerusalem and Vancouver’s Aryel Publishing House Coordinated by Diane Evans and with an introduction by photography historian Nissan N Memories of Jewish Poland is a portrait of the Gidal through photos from Wosk’s own collection and from the Israel Museum Collection The book includes Gidal’s notes for a 1984 exhibition in Tel Aviv he felt as if he had passed through an invisible curtain that once separated East and West and that had opened “I was made to feel the unifying presence of Jewry,” Gidal wrote Wosk heeded Gidal’s instructions to use little in the way of text Each page features a single image and nothing else; there are no descriptions of any kind (Basic information appears in the list of plates at the very back: “Tailor shop “Sometimes you see the burden of their labours then you see some of the students in the street “His natural rhythm was to let the photograph speak for itself,” he says He was able to achieve that direct intimacy You’re expressing what you are in the moment.’ That’s why so many of the photographs are so sincere.” to interpret the images and feel what they want or need to feel upon looking at them Perhaps it’s more appropriate to say Gidal “embraced” the moment rather than “captured” it What you can’t help but consider while looking at the collection is that it is unlikely that many of the subjects of the 3.3 million Jewish residents of Poland before World War II Memories of Jewish Poland—and the Jewish Book Festival itself—are keeping the cycle going “I learned from him and his life before me,” Wosk says “Now he’s living on as we’re continuing his story a generation after he has passed on.” Gail Johnson is cofounder and associate editor of Stir She is a Vancouver-based journalist who has earned local and national nominations and awards for her work She is a certified Gladue Report writer via Indigenous Perspectives Society in partnership with Royal Roads University and is a member of a judging panel for top Vancouver restaurants Vancouver Writers Fest fundraiser features tastings from strong B.C Free offerings include a hockey talk led by sports journalists and a conversation with author Chelene Knight A celebratory soirée at the Book Warehouse on May 22 honours authors across eight categories The founding executive director of the Writers' Union of Canada and the Writers Development Trust was also founding president of Music on Main The 2025 fest journeys from searing personal memoirs to hilariously neurotic short stories to a cookbook about modern Jewish cuisine Lineup opens with memoirist Selina Robinson and closes with actor-comedian Brett Gelman of Stranger Things and Fleabag Maya Arad and Eshkol Nevo will discuss their latest works and musician’s conversation with André Picard has musical interludes by Chor Leoni New Westminster writer takes home award for young people’s literature—text with Crash Landing Publication co-curated by Dana Claxton and Curtis Collins is accompanied by an exhibition at the Audain Art Museum in Whistler Email us at hello@createastir.ca and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations What is Stir?Support StirDiversity & InclusionAdvertisingRSS FEED Legal | Site Credits We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada Honorary Citizen of Warsaw since 18th June 2020 Went to the Defenders of Hel 5th General Secondary School in Gdańsk Graduated in history from the Catholic University of Lublin and Polish Philology at the University of Łódź Completed his doctoral studies in 1981 at the Academy of Catholic Theology (today Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University) and also obtained a postdoctoral degree The scope of this academic inquiry includes the history of priesthood   Until the end of the 1970s connected with the opposition movement including the Movement for Defence of Human and Civic Rights Service to Independence Clubs and the Association for Prisoner Care “Patronat.” He was active in Łowicz’s underground movement and headed the local Civil Committee of Solidarity Published in underground publications.  For 10 years President of the Foundation to the Fallen and Murdered in the East head of the Council of the Museum of Independence in Warsaw President of the Council of the Cursed Soldiers Foundation and the History and National Remembrance Committee at the Executive Board of the World Association of Home Army Soldiers Since 2011 he has co-organised the Remembrance Day of Cursed-Indomitable Soldiers By decision of President Lech Kaczyński appointed to the Council for Veterans by the President of the Republic of Poland Since 2014 the President of the Józef Piłsudski Institute in Warsaw.  Author of more than 70 books In 2009 he accepted the medal and title of Custodian of the Tradition Fame and Glory of the Polish Army granted by the Minister of National Defence from former President Ryszard Kaczorowski Decorated with the Officer's Cross and Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta the Cross of Honour of the Union of Polish Legionnaires and the Siberian Exiles Cross Winner of the Jerzy Śląski Award and the Varsaviana Prize.  Łowicz – signed an agreement with Roust Corporation for the purchase of its subsidiary (CEDC) which runs the entire activity of the Roust group in Poland Maspex will become the leader of the vodka market in Poland and will expand its portfolio with other iconic Polish brands – Żubrówka This is the 20th acquisition of a company from Wadowice The transaction will create the largest Polish food group with a turnover exceeding PLN 11 billion the total value of the alcoholic beverages market was over PLN 39 billion of which vodka sales accounted for 34% of the market and was worth over PLN 13 billion The transaction will be consummated upon obtaining the consent of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection Maspex Group – the owner of brands such as Tymbark Włocławek and one of the biggest companies in the food products segment in Central & Eastern Europe – announced today the signing of an agreement for the purchase of all Polish assets of Roust Corporation: CEDC International Sp and its subsidiary B2B Wine & Spirits sp.z o.o CEDC is a leader on the vodka market with a market share of over 47% (by volume) and the largest importer of foreign spirits in our country It has an iconic and historical portfolio of leading vodka brands such as: Żubrówka (a legendary Polish brand with nearly 500 years of tradition Barefoot and Gancia wines and spirits: Grant’s Production is carried out at production plants in Oborniki and Białystok the company generated a sales revenue of PLN 5.7 billion Approximatly 10% of sales are made on foreign markets and the company’s products are sold to almost 100 countries around the world Maspex plans to build another strong area of ​​its activity based on the competences of the company’s employees modern production facilities and unique brands co-owner and CEO of the Maspex Group: “We waited a long time for such a project We strongly believed that one day we would be able to complete an acquisition that would significantly increase the scale of our business – it would double our turnover but very interesting segment of the market and expanding our portfolio with iconic Polish brands including Żubrówka – the legendary Polish vodka Their indisputable market power – position and knowledge and the fact that they will be concentrated in one hand are other attributes of the transaction This is our 20th acquisition – a beautiful consummation  of 30 years of Maspex history” main shareholder and Executive Chairman of the Board: “CEDC today is the result of hard work over the last 7 years and an extremely successful revitalization of CEDC business By taking over the company in 2013 we started from the position of no 2 (22.7% volume share in the market) to double our share (47%) by 2021 and achieve the position of the undisputed leader in Poland Following the successful value creation journey of CEDC over the last 7 years Roust Corporation has agreed to accept an offer to sell CEDC to a strategic investor In this transaction Maspex was supported by Rymarz-Zdort who provided legal services and by EY who provided financial and tax advisory Morgan acted as the sole financial adviser to Roust Corporation on the transaction Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP acted as Roust Corporation legal counsel Maspex is the largest Polish private company in the food industry and one of the largest in Central and Eastern Europe The company’s portfolio includes 67 brands and offers more than  2,300 sku and its products are present in over 60 countries around the world Apenta and Vellingrad are mostly the market leaders and brands most appreciated in their categories by consumers in Poland and in the countries of CEE Products from the Maspex portfolio are manufactured in 16 modern plants in Poland and abroad The company produces 1.8 billion litres of juices cereal and instant products and almost 150,000 tonnes of jams and preserves Maspex focuses on organic growth and acquisitions the company buys over 330,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables as well as 120,000 tonnes of cereals from the Polish  farmers.  Sales revenue in 2020 amounted to PLN 5.22 billion the International Tourism Exhibition "Travel Expo Cyprus 2023" was held in Nicosia known in previous years as "Taxidi" ("Journey" in Greek) is the largest expo event in the Republic of Cyprus promoting outbound tourism among its inhabitants The fairs bring together a wide range of exhibitors from specific branches of tourism sector (travel agencies international and local organizations as well as representatives of countries and regions the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Nicosia took part in this event We are very pleased that our invitation to join us during exhibition was accepted by delegations from the Marshal's Office of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship the Museum of Toruń Gingerbread and the Tourist Information Center in Toruń Participation in the fairs was an excellent opportunity to promote Poland and its tourist attractions and to establish contacts that will result in cooperation in the near future The theme of our stand was the 550th anniversary of the birth of Nicolaus Copernicus inseparably linked with both Toruń and Warmia and Mazury Visitors had the opportunity to learn about wide tourist offer of our country Our guests could also taste Toruń gingerbread cookies and other traditional Polish sweets We would like to thank our invitees from Olsztyn Toruń and Łowicz as well as the Polish Tourist Organization which supported us in organizing the pavilion The Holy Father Francis appointed Archbishop Andrzej Józwowicz Andrzej Józwowicz was born in Boćki (Diocese of Drohiczyn) on 14 January 1965 he graduated from the Major Metropolitan Seminary in Warsaw and was ordained a priest on 24 May 1990 After the creation of the Diocese of Łowicz he was sent to Rome for specialist studies by Bishop Alojzy Orszulik Studying at the Utriusque Iuris Department of the Lateran University in Rome he began parallel studies and formation at the Pontifical Church Academy the “forge of future diplomats” of the Holy See he obtained a doctorate in Utriusque Iuris from the Pontifical Lateran University engaged successively in missions in Mozambique He is an honorary prelate of His Holiness and also a canon of the Cathedral chapter of Łowicz at the same time elevating him to the title of titular Archbishop of Lauriaco Press Office of the Polish Bishops’ Conference Nau / Office for Foreign Communication of the Polish Bishops’ Conference