Photography taken before the funeral of Pope Francis, where Szymon Hołownia took the photo, circulated social media and caused a wave of negative comments. The Marshal of the Sejm assured in an interview with journalists that he did not take a selfie. Hołownia is also not the only politician who took pictures in the Vatican.
Key facts:
- The photographs published on social media show Szymon Hołownia taking a photo before the funeral of Franciszek.
- The behavior of the Speaker of the Sejm caused criticism of Internet users and some politicians.
- Hołownia has already responded to the allegations. He emphasized that he took two photos in total, but none of them were so -called selfie.
On Saturday, just before the start of the funeral ceremony of Pope Francis on the Vatican News editorial profile, a photograph showing the moment of arrival of the Polish delegation appeared on the X website. It shows, among others President Andrzej Duda with his wife, Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak -Kamysz, and just in front of him – taking a photo, holding the phone up, Marshal of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia.
Criticism at Hołownia
There were many negative comments under the post. Critics say that Hołownia did not remain enough, although the event took place before the ceremony began. “The second person in the country behaves as if it was a sightseeing trip”, “Szymon Hołownia on a class trip. The whole world sees his clown” – some comments sound.
Politicians also joined the criticism. Tomasz Trela from the left wrote: “Nearly 200,000 people and over 150 delegations say goodbye to Pope Francis, but this is not a reason to behave like a high school student on a trip. A bit of seriousness Mr. Marshal.” In turn, Anna Zalewska from PiS commented with the words: “Sejm Marshal Szymon Hołownia, an opponent of smartphones in Polish schools.”
Hołownia reacts
In response to criticism, the Marshal of the Sejm published a photo that he probably took at that moment. “You must not have a shame to shoot a political war at such a moment,” he wrote. “I invited people in the crisis of homelessness to the plane for the funeral of the Pope. They are representatives of the group, which Francis helped in a special way. We pray, experience, document and remember forever. I attach to interested parties proof of what is most important today: a Vatican full of mourners, including a lot of our compatriots” – he added.
In an interview with journalists in Vatican Hołownia was asked if he took a selfie during the ceremony. He assured that it is not used to take this type of photos. – I took a picture coming out of the basilica, I took a picture of this whole crowd, which was in St. Peter's Square. Anyway, many politicians going out and behind me and me also took such photos, because it was absolutely intimidating and such a humble impression – he said.
Hołownia emphasized that he took two photos in total. – The second photo was a photo when the coffin of Pope Francis from the basilica was carried before the mass – he added.
According to Hołownia, there is nothing wrong with commemorating important moments. He also pointed out that many other politicians participating in the ceremony actually took a selfie. – I understand that there are those who, even on such a day and in such circumstances, care about leaving a bomb politically on someone. For me, the most important thing is whether I have a feeling, whether I did something bad or I did not do something bad – he assessed.
Not only Hołownia took pictures
Selfie made before the ceremony, for example, boasted PiS MP Michał Wójcik. Responding to criticism under the entry from one of the journalists, he wrote: “The photo was created before the celebrations. There is no reason to do it in the underground, Mr. Editor. During the mass I did not do, warning the question.”
He also published a selfie from the Vatican Roman Giertych.
Author/author: Pb // AZ
Source: tvn24.pl, PAP
Source of the main photo: Tytus Żmijewski/PAP