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WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A Roman Catholic priest has been criticized in Poland for showing high school students in a religion class the uncensored video of Egyptian Christians being beheaded by Islamic State militants.
The Polish broadcaster TVN24 reported Wednesday that both the school and church authorities in the northern Polish city of Szczecin reprimanded the priest for subjecting his 10th grade students to such disturbing images.
The priest, Krzysztof Jeruzalski, played the video as part of a lesson on Christian martyrdom before Easter.
Polish media reported that some parents complained, though one student quoted by TVN24, Alicja Rucinska, defended the priest, saying he had given students the option of leaving the room.
The gruesome video shows black-masked militants beheading 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya in February.
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