Sejm cross

Jerzy Popiełuszko, priest and martyr murdered by the Służba Bezpieczeństwa (communist political police) in 1984.

The spokesman of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) protested against the presence of the cross in the Sejm, saying that it was hung there in order to provoke a brawl.

Other opponents called it a violation of the Constitution (which came into effect two days before the act) which states that the Republic of Poland is neutral in religious matters.

Nobody disputed the fact that the hanging of the cross was illegal - Wójcik got into the Sejm chamber without any approval and other MPs had never discussed the issue before.

[1] A 1997 poll found that 52% of respondents believed that a cross should hang in the Sejm, 29% were against, 16% were indifferent and 3% had no opinion.