By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Bishop Wieslaw Mering of the diocese of Wlocawek in Poland is protesting the hiring of a Satanic rock musician by a national television station where he will be featured as an “outstanding Polish singer.”
PolskiRadio.com is reporting that Bishop Mering is outraged that the TVP television show, The Voice of Poland, plans to feature Adam “Nergal” Darski of the internationally known “death metal” group Behemoth on its show. Darski, who praises Satan is his lyrics, was recently acquitted in the courts after he tore up a Bible on stage in 2007.
“A blasphemer, Satanist and lover of evil incarnate has the screen of public television at his disposal, and thus he will be able to spread his poisonous teachings more easily,” the bishop declared in a statement that is set to be read at pulpits across the diocese.
“Non possumus! [This cannot be!]” he says, and goes on to call for public protests of the show. If their appeals go unheard, he is urging Poles not to pay their television subscription.
In Poland, offending someone’s religious feelings is a criminal offense, which can result in up to two years in prison if convicted.
The controversial Darski has been making headlines ever since the Bible-shredding episode for which he’s been in and out of court. Video taped during the offensive performance shows the musician tearing up a Bible and throwing the ripped pages into the audience, calling for them to be burned.
According to the Christian Post, Ryszard Nowak, the head of the All-Polish Committee for Defense Against Sects, took offense to Darski’s actions during the concert and filed a lawsuit against Behemoth for promoting Satanism and offending religious feelings.
A court later ruled that Darski’s behavior was a form of artistic expression and threw out the charges. The ruling was appealed, but a second judge recently upheld the original decision and Darski was once again cleared.
The musician, who was raised Catholic, was recently diagnosed with leukemia for which he underwent a bone marrow transplant. However, receiving a terminal diagnosis does not appear to have determination to continue to spread his blasphemous message. After his most recent court acquittal, Darski expressed his relief on the band’s website, “I’m so glad to see that intelligence won over religious fanatics in my home country. Tho there’s still so much work to be done to make things right… But I’m sure that I’m on the right path to ultimate freedom! The battle is won, but the war ain’t over. Heil Satan!”
Darski’s group has produced CD’s with such titles as Satanica, AntiChristian Phenomenon and From the Pagan Vastland. Their 2007 release, entitled The Apostasy, is described on the group’s website as meant to “go against religion.” Because Poland is one of the top religious countries in the world, “BEHEMOTH strives to convey that being religious is not the key to happiness,” the site says. “This album takes everything to the next level, as Nergal (guitars, vocals) promises more speed, aggression and blasphemy than ever before.”
Father Gabriele Amorth, well-known exorcist for the diocese of Rome, has frequently warned that Satanic rock groups are one of ways that Satanism is being spread through the world today.
These bands continue to be very popular among certain youth and include groups such as Marilyn Manson, Cradle of Filth, Blasphemy, Archenemy and Angelcorpse.
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