[6] The Economist has summarized that, "The church in Poland is divided between Vatican loyalists, who often oppose close involvement in politics, and energetic dissidents linked to Radio Maryja, a hardline broadcaster.

[11][12] In February 2011, the local district court of Toruń issued a fine of 3,500 zloty to Fr Rydzyk, finding that he illegally used Radio Maryja broadcasts to raise funds for his television station, Telewizja Trwam; his University of Social and Media Culture; and a geothermal drilling project run by Fundacja Lux Veritatus.

In August 2012, a political controversy transpired when Anna Sobecka, a Law and Justice MP and close ally of Rydzyk's, applied to pay the fine from her own pocket despite not having the authorization to do so.

[16][17][18] Bishop Tadeusz Pieronek, the former secretary general of the Episcopate of Poland, said that Radio Maryja is "a real and growing problem", adding that the station "offers a reduced view on Christianity" that is "extremely compromising and shameful, sick and dangerous.

[22] In 2006, the papal nuncio to Poland, Archbishop Józef Kowalczyk, wrote to Polish bishops requesting their aid "to overcome difficulties caused by some transmissions and the views presented by Radio Maryja.

[27] While some bishops have criticized Radio Maryja for spreading opinions incompatible with the official teaching of the Catholic Church,[28] others voice support for the station.

[38][39][40] In April 2006, well-known Polish essayist Stanisław Michalkiewicz – a major personality on Telewizja Trwam – was reported in Gazeta Wyborcza as stating that "men from Judea ... are trying to surprise us from behind," and referring to the World Jewish Congress as "a main firm in the Holocaust Industry".

[23][41] In July 2007, over 700[42] Polish Catholic intellectuals, journalists, priests and activists signed a public letter of protest condemning Radio Maryja's anti-Semitic remarks.

[43][44] Poland's Media Ethics Council referred to the station's "weakly documented accusations" against Jews as "primitive anti-Semitism"[23] and condemned Radio Maryja.

"[47] In 2011 the Polish Broadcasting Authority Commission examined two programs on Radio Maryja and reprimanded the station for its antisemitic statements and "nationalistic racism".

[53] Jarosław Kaczyński, the former Prime Minister of Poland, was a regular guest on Radio Maryja,[54] as were other rightist or far-right politicians such as Andrzej Lepper and Zbigniew Ziobro.

[58] The station promoted the political program of the Law and Justice party,[59] which together with Lech Kaczyński sought to introduce capital punishment in Poland and throughout Europe.

To the fury of the Polish press, only Rydzyk and journalists from Telewizja Trwam – who actively supported Law and Justice during the election – were allowed in the room during the signing.

Critics asserted that the government feared alienating Radio Maryja's dedicated audience, which makes up a significant fraction of Law and Justice's political base.

demonstration with Law and Justice to protest the centrist government's purported attempt to silence both stations by not including them on the country's digital television multiplex.

[68][69] Archbishop Jozef Michalik said that no disciplinary action would be taken against the director of Radio Maryja: "You can't judge a person from just one statement, or on the basis of some lack of tact.

"[70] In 2012, Radio Maryja, which has long criticized Freemasonry, broadcast an interview saying that the plane crash which killed President Kaczyński two years earlier – among "many other acts" – was the result of a Masonic plot against the Law and Justice party.