Posted on 07/02/2019 3:56:30 AM PDT by Cronos
Catholic News Agency Support CNA Custom Search Search Home » News » Europe Polish IKEA fires employee for Biblical opposition to pride event 6129 Free email newsletter IKEA. Credit: Gints Ivuskans / Shutterstock. IKEA. Credit: Gints Ivuskans / Shutterstock. Krakow, Poland, Jul 1, 2019 / 06:37 pm (CNA).- An Ikea worker in Poland has filed a lawsuit after being fired last week for posting Bible verses opposing homosexual behavior on the company’s intranet.
Tomasz K is suing after he was terminated from his position at the furniture store in Krakow.
Poland Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro has also asked the national prosecutor's office to look into the case.
The issue arose when employees were asked to attend a pro-LGBT event at the company.
In response, Tomasz said that he objected to the promotion of homosexuality. He posted two verses from Scripture: “Woe to him through whom scandals come, it would be better for him to tie a millstone around his neck and plunge him in the depths of the sea,” (Matthew 18:6) and, “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them,” (Leviticus 20:13).
Ikea then fired Tomasz. The company said in a statement that he was terminated for “using quotes from the Old Testament about death and blood in the context of what fate should meet homosexual people” and “expressing his opinion in a way that could affect the rights and dignity of LGBT+ people,” according to news.com.au.
Tomasz’s attorney, however, says he was simply exercising his protected right to express his religious beliefs.
Tomasz told TVP Info that his job was to sell furniture, not to promote same-sex ideology. When asked to take down the Bible verses he had posted, he said, “as a Catholic, I cannot censor God.”
“I do not think it was my duty. ... [I] quoted two quotations from the Holy Scriptures: about stumbling and about the fact that the cohabitation between two men is an abomination,” he said, according to TVP Info.
After Tomasz was fired, another employee also quit in solidarity with him.
“[If Ikea] promotes equality and diversity towards people, why was this situation where the Catholic expresses his opinion and is thrown out of work for it?” the employee said, according to the TVP Info.
A spokeswoman for Ikea holding company Ingka Group issued a statement to news.com.au saying that in the company’s view, “Using your religion background as a reason for excluding others is considered discrimination.”
“At Ingka Group we believe everyone has the right to be treated fairly and be given equal opportunities whatever their gender, sexual orientation and gender identity, age, nationality, religion and/or any other dimension of their identity,” she said.
“Inclusion at Ingka Group means respecting our individual differences and creating a safe environment for all. Everyone’s views and opinions are welcome with the common goal to build a great place to work.”
Tomasz is represented by the legal group Ordo Iuris. The group’s chairman, Jerzy Kwasniewski, argued that it is illegal to censor the Bible, and said the move was oppressive to Tomasz’s rights.
“The insinuation contained in the Ikea statement is unacceptable and violates Mr Tomasz’s personal rights,” he said, according to New.com.au. “[It] can be read as motivated by prejudices against Christians.”
I expect better of Poland.
My last refuge if demRINOs ever seize full control and Alabama falls.
So she's ok with someone who wants to molest children?
Why the sudden global fascination with anal sex?
FWIW, I don’t think the Polish prosecutor is looking at the employer, likely at IKEA.
Employee who was fired, rather, likely, hopefully, looking at IKEA...
Brudziński: IKEA cannot treat Poland like its own manor
Good.
It's all the rage, don't you know? Get on the boat, Sailor.
Worst buying experience I’ve ever had was with IKEA.
I’ve never patronized it.
Never going to if this is corporate policy.
He posted it on the company’s intranet. Might have violated their TOS. Not really a gay/religion issue, IMHO. But these days you have to write a spicy headline to get the clicks!
The “dignity of the LBGQT community”. That’s rich. They have sex in Porta-potties and rest stops.
I believe the broader point is about the fact that in this case Ikea is not only condoning/protecting the rights of the LGBTQ+ crowd, but they are also promoting them above others in the name of diversity. What is even more insulting to the intelligence of any sane person is; they are doing this while simultaneously suppressing the rights of individuals who have a contrary opinion or worldview (so much for diversity of thought or background or beliefs).
Repressive fascists: gays, m*slims, pro-abortionists. Unable to tolerate anyone with a different opinion. Eager to destroy them.
I guess my question is, was IKEA forcing their employees to go to an LGBT+ event or simply informing them of the event? Also, if the fired employee hadn’t posted a quote about violently murdering these people, would he have been fired?
Krakow? No surprise. You might as well be in Londonistan. Krakow is about as Polish as Chicago these days.
FWIW, I wouldn’t take IKEA’s word for what the employee allegedly typed. I’d want to see the entirety of what the employee posted verbatim.
You mean quoting the Bible? The article seems to indicate that the employees were either forced or encouraged to support or attend the event.
Maybe you'd find more like-minded "thinkers" in Democratic Underground?
That's problematic because even though it was probably put forth as a voluntary event it may have come across as a mandate.
As to your other point, I don't give a rat's ass where the passage came from. The point is the guy posted a quote about violently killing the type of individuals involved in this event. Whether you agree with their type of lifestyle, they have a right to go through life without being threatened with physical violence by a coworker.
And I'm talking about the legal definition of threats of violence, which this comes close to. So spare me your sanctimony.
If you’ve see either a verbatim quote or a screenshot of what the guy posted, please share it.
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