Wimbledon women’s semifinalist Agnieszka Radwanska stripped down for ESPN The Magazine's Body Issue, and according to reports, the 24-year-old's stark naked photos have Catholics in her native Poland stark raving mad.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Catholic group Youth Crusade is distancing itself from Radwanska on account of “immoral behavior” exhibited in her photo shoot, which featured nude, but not explicit photos of the world’s No. 4 player both floating in and sitting next to a pool filled with tennis balls.
Youth Crusade runs a campaign called “I am not ashamed of Jesus,” which Radwanska participated in two years ago.
One of Radwanska’s au naturel photos was featured on the cover of Wprost, a popular Polish news magazine, and Father Marek Dziewiecki, a senior Catholic priest, expressed outrage over the image in an interview with The Telegraph.
"It's a shame that someone who has declared their love for Jesus is now promoting the mentality of men looking at a woman as a thing rather than a child of God worthy of respect and love," Dziewiecki said.
"If she meets a man who she can truly love and establish a happy family and raise Catholic children, then she would probably have to hide these pictures from relatives."
According to AFP, more than 90 percent of Poland — which was the home to Pope John Paul II — identifies itself as Catholic.
