On Wednesday we visited the Polish Catholic magazine, Tygodnik Powszechny. The magazine was founded in March 1945 in the closing months of World War II and focuses on social and cultural issues. It was briefly closed in 1953 because of its refusal to publish an obituary for Vladimir Lenin after his passing. Their stance on this issue back in 1953 clearly showed their values and insistence on having a strong opinion in a time when the wrong opinion can get you into trouble.
Tygodnik Powszechny was meant to be for the laymen and secular people to get the real news under the communist regime of the time. As seen below, the magazine was of course censored by the government, but that didn't stop the magazine from letting its readers know about their disagreement with the policy. You'll see sections of text that were crossed out and when printed there would be a line ([-----]) indicating that the content was removed due to censorship.
After the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, the magazine became more difficult to sustain. There was a drop in readership due to even more political influence. However, the magazine continues to fight and express its opinions. They have a positive view on abortion and LGBT rights and are not afraid to express their views.
What surprised me most was the fact that Tygodnik Powszechny is considered a Catholic magazine, even though it does not give that impression at all. There are sections titled "Wiara" or "Faith" where they discuss Catholic news and events. Even after speaking with some Polish students yesterday about the magazine, they also said they read the magazine and agreed with the opinions expressed.
My roommate Kelly and I were trying to think of a United States comparison for this magazine, but could not think of one other than The New Yorker in terms of unbiased news reporting. However, that does not necessarily have any religious ties. Can anyone else think of a magazine that may be similar?
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