Leo XIV Promotes Poland’s Most Militant Pro-Migration Bishop
Born in September 1960, he was ordained as a priest in May 1986. Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as an auxiliary bishop of Koszalin–Kołobrzeg in 2009.
Since 2014, he has chaired the Polish Bishops' Conference Council on Migration. His rhetoric places him among the most vocal pro-immigration bishops in Poland.
"Marches Full of Hatred" - "Costume of Patriotism"
In September 2016, he told Deon.pl: "Today Christ has the face of a refugee." And: "Christ is in those refugees who die in the Mediterranean."
In autumn 2017, Monsignor Zadarko visited Lampedusa, Italy, and on 5 October he told Więź.pl that he had seen "hundreds of anonymous graves". He also said: "Small crosses and medals were buried in the mouths of the drowned persons."
In a subsequent interview with Tygodnik Powszechny in 2024, he stated: "Helpers at the border are treated as traitors. That’s a disgrace." He spoke of "hostility" that "puts on the costume of patriotism": "Love of neighbour cannot be addressed only to our own."
In 2025, he criticised Polish demonstrations against Muslim mass immigration in an interview with Rzeczpospolita, saying: "I don't see Muslim demonstrations... I see marches... full of hatred."
"Anti-Migration Narratives Not Catholic"
On 9 May 2025, the Council on Migrants and Refugees, chaired by Zadarko, declared that "promoting anti-migration narratives is incompatible with the identity of Catholic media".
The statement also said: "The way we treat refugees and migrants in Poland is a test of the authenticity of our Christian stance."
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