A Gay Atheist Plots to Save His Catholic Country
Robert Biedron founded a new political party less than three months ago and it could help decide who governs Poland.
Robert Biedron meets supporters in Sopot, Poland, on April 23.
Photographer: Michal Fludra/NurPhoto via Getty Images
A dozen Virgin Mary figurines decorate Robert Biedron’s office in Warsaw, picked from about 400 or so he’s gathered from across the world. Some show her smiling or suffering, some with dark or pale skin and others skinny, plump or even pregnant.
Such a collection might not be unusual in Poland, a devout bastion of the Catholic Church and birthplace of Pope John Paul II. What’s unusual is the collector: a gay atheist who wants to pull his country back into the European mainstream and away from the pious nationalism and homophobia that’s permeated society under the government that won power in 2015 and is seeking re-election this year.