"It is also important to say that we are talking not only about the image, which was offensive and provocative of course, but also about the way it was promoted. It was very widespread on social media," she said.
"It was also placed on the walls of the Sanctuary of St. Faustina and at the convent of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Warsaw. So in places that are very important to Catholics, places that are the object of cult [religious practice]. It was also very offensive to people that believe in God, believe in Jesus."
"This is why there should be no doubt that this particular act of 'artistic expression,' as the authors would like to describe it, is something that should not take place."
Elżbieta Podleśna, a psychotherapist and activist, told the court on Jan. 13 that she regarded the display in St. Dominic's Church as "homophobic" and believed it could encourage the stigmatization of "people of non-heteronormative sexual orientation and gender identity."
She was arrested in May 2019 at her home in Warsaw and taken to Płock for questioning. A court later determined that her detention was unjustified and awarded her damages of around $2,000.
Amnesty International, the human rights organization founded by the British Catholic lawyer Peter Benenson, has urged Poland's prosecutor general to drop the charges against the three women.
Pawłowska said that Amnesty's stance lacked merit in Polish law.
"It mostly consists of political postulates, but not arguments that have grounds in existing legal provisions in Poland," she said.
"The Polish constitution and international law defend the right to religious freedom and defend people from examples of such offenses like that. This is why the stance of Amnesty International not only has no grounds in the Polish legal system but also in international human rights provisions."
The Catholic Church in Poland is not currently commenting on the court case, which comes as the Church appears to be losing ground in Polish society.
More than 90% of Poles are baptized Catholics and the country has the highest weekly church attendance in Europe. But statisticians announced last month that Sunday Mass-going declined by 1.3% in 2019 -- before the coronavirus pandemic struck the country.
(Story continues below)
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
In November, a survey found that only 9% of respondents aged 18 to 29 had a positive view of the Church, while 47% had a negative view and 44% were neutral.
Pawłowska said that the Ordo Iuris International Law Center had no formal connection to the Catholic Church in Poland.
"In fact, we are a non-governmental legal organization that consists not only of Catholics but also people of different beliefs," she said.
"We of course defend people's rights to religious freedom and that their religious convictions be respected, but we are not referring to religious arguments. We are referring to legal arguments, which are all on our side because the Polish constitution and international legal human rights treaties are in favor of such rights."
In October, protesters disrupted Sunday Masses after the country's constitutional court ruled that a law permitting abortion for fetal abnormalities was unconstitutional. Amid nationwide demonstrations, protesters left graffiti on church property and vandalized statues of St. John Paul II, the Polish pope who led the Church from 1978 to 2005.
Pawłowska pointed out that the "Rainbow Madonna" image was displayed during the protests.