In 2005, the last year of John Paul II’s life, his book “Memory and Identity” was published. It contained Pope Wojtyła’s reflections on the history of Poland, on the identity of Europe powerfully shaped by Christianity, and on the mystery of evil embodied in the great totalitarian systems of the 20th century such as Nazism and Communism, which Wojtyła had known firsthand.

When the idea arose in Poland to organize a museum dedicated to the intellectual heritage of Saint John Paul II, it was decided to name it the “Memory and Identity” Museum, after the title of his book. This museum, built in the city of Toruń, had two co-founders: the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Lux Veritatis Foundation. Today, the museum buildings are completed and the exhibition needs to be finalized. Unfortunately, following the 2003 (2023) elections, a coalition of parties came to power, forming the most anticlerical government since the 1989 democratic transition.

The Ministry of Culture of this government, led at first by Hanna Wróblewska, wanted at all costs to destroy this great initiative, like many similar ones aimed at keeping the memory of the Polish Pope alive. Wróblewska even called the museum an “unwanted package.” Therefore, the museum was deprived of the funds necessary to complete its permanent exhibition and was subjected to thorough audits. During the checks, which lasted more than an unusual two-year period, invoices, contracts, and tax documents were examined. Everything was in order. But the government’s relentless targeting of the museum continued.

The rulers are doing this for pure political and ideological interest, even at the cost of wasting the public funds spent so far on the construction of this state museum.

Recently, further actions undertaken by the authorities against the museum have come to light. Another inspection is nearing completion. The objective of this inspection, as well as previous ones (beginning in early 2024) at the museum and the Lux Veritatis Foundation, is evident: to find some pretext to close the museum. To date, none of the numerous inspection teams sent has found grounds to do so. Therefore, in May 2025, the Director of the Mazovian Customs and Tax Office in Warsaw initiated an accounting audit of the museum regarding VAT payments. Despite previous checks, including one conducted by the Director of the Tax Administration Chamber in Warsaw, which had demonstrated the correctness and reliability of the museum’s accounting and the proper spending of public funds granted for the construction of its headquarters and the creation of the permanent exhibition, the new audit by the Director of the Mazovian Customs and Tax Office claims that the museum’s purchase and supply records for the period from December 2020 to December 2022 “do not reflect the true situation and are unreliable in their entirety.” This conclusion directly contradicts both the findings of his own audit report and the results of the director’s verification.

Representatives of the Lux Veritatis Foundation have announced that they have filed legal and other appeals against these inspections. However, it is known that decisions regarding such appeals are not immediate.

Based solely on the auditors’ vague statement about “inaccuracies in tax records,” the government will surely publicize this false accusation in the media, as it has always done. It will be yet another false “label” that the government will try to pin on the museum and its founders in the public eye. All of this is aimed at blocking the museum’s activities and destroying it.

Hundreds of thousands of Poles had taken a stand in defense of this Polish cultural institution by sending signed petitions to the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. But Tusk’s government remains deaf to society’s voices. Just as the Polish communist regime fought against John Paul II, now the former communists and pseudo-democrats of Tusk’s coalition parties want to destroy his legacy. The world must know.