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12.04.2018 09:18Let Us Offer Each Other the Sign of Peace
An explicit goal of the campaign was not to support specific legal solutions concerning the LGBT community but to promote civil discourse between often antagonistic milieus: Catholics and LGBT groups.
The ‘Let Us Offer Each Other the Sign of Peace’ campaign started in September 2016 and was financed by the Open Society Foundations. Its title refers to a custom, the exchange of a handshake or a bow, performed during the Catholic mass. The poster for the campaign, a photo of a handshake, refers directly to this gesture. The campaign was incepted by the Kph, Wiara i Tęcza (Faith and Rainbow — WiT) and Tolerado. Its uniqueness consists in the fact that these three LGBT organisations were joined by, among others, three relevant Catholic periodicals, which in the provided documents were described as ‘media partners’: Więź, Tygodnik Powszechny and Znak.
An explicit goal of the campaign was not to support specific legal solutions concerning the LGBT community but to promote civil discourse between often antagonistic milieus: Catholics and LGBT groups. The project was popularised through the distribution of billboards, posters and short films with statements from people, e.g., members of the editorial teams, taking part in the campaign.
It is difficult to verify what impact this campaign had on the dispute over LGBT people. Its pioneering character, however, was noticed in the media: information on the campaign was included in every relevant periodical and TV station. What has to be emphasised is that it was criticised by the authorities of the Catholic Church (the Polish Episcopal Conference issued an official opinion according to which ‘Catholics should not take part in the campaign’) and the right-wing media. Thus, it would be naive to expect that the campaign would bring about unification of the two opposite poles with Catholics on one hand and LGBT groups on the other. However, it cannot be denied that the campaign was an important first step that can lead to a dialogue between them. http://www.znakpokoju.com/#
Lukáš Zorád
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