The timing couldn’t have been better when it came to airing this type of program. “Veil, cart and bravado”, “Na rectory”, “Ruined Rebuilt” are just a few new items on public television that are closely related to the Catholic faith and the Church. In addition, there are, of course, daily broadcasts of masses, “Monastery flavors according to Remigiusz Rączka”, “Church up close”… – and these are only two days of the program on Monday and Tuesday. And only the morning.
Meanwhile, in the real, less televised world, there is much more going on. Will “Veil, cart and bravado” and stories from ordinary rectories cover, for example, the priests’ games in Dąbrowa Górnicza? You can try, but it won’t be easy.
We watched “Veil, Cart and Bravado”
Since for several days we have been learning how people had fun at the rectory in Dąbrowa Górnicza, “Veil, cart and brawura” will be in almost complete opposition in this respect. The episodes – because it’s hard to call a production that lasts less than 25 minutes an episode – are charming, the heroines are warm, and the plot is about absolutely nothing. But the announcements were as loud as if we were getting at least a nun’s version of “Top Gear” – at the very beginning, smiling nuns ride through Poland on motorbikes, bicycles, wearing helmets and habits.
Travel is indeed the main theme, but unfortunately it is a journey from nowhere to nowhere – there are too many heroines (as many as three in 25 minutes) to discover why and why they are traveling separately. They talk to their drivers on the road. These are conversations mainly about oneself and one’s past – from early monastic life or life before the monastic life.
Before her convent, Sister Teresa sang in a band Photo Veil, cart and bravado / TVP / frame
It’s impossible not to like sisters Anna, Teresa and Karina – they are as warm as a summer morning. But although the concept of “a nun on the road” is an interesting approach to the topic (when hearing about “nuns”, the first thought often comes to mind being an order cut off from the outside world), in the case of “Veil, Fury and Bravado” we won’t actually learn anything about their everyday lives. Just like that, one plays the guitar, the second one was on a pilgrimage, the third one devoted a significant part of her airtime to a story about a disco – and then, suddenly, the episode ends. What was that supposed to be? What for?
If you don’t know what this is about…
By producing this type of programs, TVP is trying to benefit mainly the Church (because it is not the diverse viewers in Poland who all pay a lot of money for Public Television). And year by year, it records further spectacular records of the decline in vocations. Of course, “Veil, Cart and Bravado” will not reverse this trend (who among the young has time to watch this type of program at 7:30 a.m. on Monday? Who among the young still watches TV anyway?), but as you can see, it can be tried using public money it’s worth it.
The overwhelming number of religious programs on public television is also impressive. It’s hard not to get the impression that Tadeusz Rydzyk has quietly developed a powerful rival based in Warsaw in recent years, consistently stealing his pensioners and, more importantly, not calling for any money for the Redemptorist’s media empire. In addition, there are also private relations between the Church and individual politicians:
The government has long had warm relations with the Church and its various centers – not only with the “Radio Maryja family”. The culmination of these relations was the “television concordat” signed three years ago by Jacek Kurski and Bishop Artur Miziński. The malicious people then said that it was the price for the opportunity to take the so-called “ecclesiastical divorce” and remarriage in Łagiewniki of Jacek and Joanna Kurski. But it’s probably a coincidence that every week on TVP we can watch a broadcast of the mass from the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Łagiewniki at seven o’clock – tells us Janusz Omyliński, who runs the “Lekcja Religiii” profile on social media, where he looks at various religions – including the Catholic one – on world.
More religion, will society survive?
Regardless of the crusade on TVP, Poles are resistant. According to recent polls, almost half of Poles would like to withdraw religion from schools. Young people do not want to go to church, and they increasingly declare themselves to be against the official message. 37 percent of Poles practice their faith every Sunday or more often (CBOS data from 2022), but this is a decrease of 9 percentage points compared to the data two years earlier.
When I counted it a year ago (I checked three weeks), there were on average nine hours of religious programs and broadcasts a week on TVP1 alone. One week even 13 and a half hours! This is simply a way to tickle the Church, which has already helped PiS in the elections more than once, for example by strengthening their message (as was the case with the right-wing attack on LGBT, tightening the anti-abortion law or “defending the name of John Paul II”). However, the Church is not a monolith and let us remember that those in power have to come to Toruń for a ceremony, sometimes appear at Jasna Góra and then arrange for a broadcast from Łagiewniki on television – adds Omyliński.
TVP also invested heavily in its Catholic editorial office. They produce most religious programs themselves or with the support of regional editorial offices. It must be admitted, however, that these are usually low-budget productions or broadcasts requiring only signal transmission. Often crammed in at times when nothing else could be posted anyway. In this way, the Church is full and the sheep is whole, he concludes.
According to the 2023 budget, public radio and television received PLN 2.7 billion from state money.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
