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Poles want pope's heart buried in country
Seattle Post - Intelligencer ^ | Monday, April 4, 2005 | MONIKA SCISLOWSKA

Posted on 04/04/2005 11:48:54 AM PDT by lizol

Poles want pope's heart buried in country

By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

Nuns and children pray for the late Pope John Paul II in Krakow, southern Poland, on Monday, April 4, 2005 in front of the residency of the archbishop. Pope John Paul II died in his Vatican apartment Saturday, April 2, 2005. He was 84. John Paul was a bishop in Krakow before he became the Pope. (AP Photo/Jockel Finck) KRAKOW, Poland -- Some officials in Krakow, where Pope John Paul II was archbishop, hope his heart can be buried in their cathedral alongside Poland's medieval kings and saints, but a senior cardinal cast doubt on that happening.

"We would like the heart of the greatest Krakovian and the greatest Pole to rest at Wawel (Cathedral)," Mayor Jacek Majchrowski was quoted as saying Monday by the Gazeta Wyborcza daily. "But the rules are set by the church and we will respect them."

The heart of another great Pole, composer Frederic Chopin, rests in an urn in Warsaw's Holy Cross Church, although the rest of his body is buried at Paris's Pere Lachaise Cemetery.

The College of Cardinals said Monday the pope's remains would be interred in the grotto of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Asked if this ruled out sending his heart to Poland, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls did not directly reply, saying he was merely transmitting information on decisions taken by the cardinals.

In an interview with Rzeszpospolita daily, Krakow's Cardinal Franciszek Macharski said the age of dismembering the corpses of great figures had passed.

"There was once this Romantic custom that after death parts of the body of known and loved people be placed in important places," Macharski said. "This tradition is no longer ours. Respect for the human body says that it ought to be laid in a grave."

The pope is revered in overwhelmingly Roman Catholic Poland as a national as well as spiritual leader for his role in inspiring resistance to the communist regime, which fell peacefully in 1989-90. His life has special meaning in Krakow, where he studied for the priesthood and rose within the church from a young priest to bishop, archbishop and cardinal.

He celebrated his first Mass as a young priest in the 12th-century crypt of St. Leonard beneath the cathedral.

"Having the heart of the greatest citizen of Krakow lay in Wawel would be the greatest honor for us," city spokesman Marcin Helbin told The Associated Press.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: johnpaulii; karolwojtyla; poland; polish; pope; wojtyla
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1 posted on 04/04/2005 11:48:55 AM PDT by lizol
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To: lizol

Not as unusual a request as you might imagine.

Compare with "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee".

Seems that in times past, a highly regarded person may have had several parts taken from the body and had them buried in various places, to satisfy the wishes of various constituencies to claim that "So-and-so is buried here".

Some politics involved with these claims, as you might expect.


2 posted on 04/04/2005 11:53:51 AM PDT by alloysteel ("Master of the painfully obvious.....")
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To: lizol

Why the infatuation with dead body parts? This seems ghoulish to me, as does opening the body of a great Pope for this purpose.


3 posted on 04/04/2005 11:55:17 AM PDT by Blzbba (Don't hate the player - hate the game!)
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To: lizol

What next, dip his heart in gold and worship it on an altar?


4 posted on 04/04/2005 11:55:19 AM PDT by 1Peter3v14
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To: lizol

Freaky wierd.


5 posted on 04/04/2005 11:57:33 AM PDT by BikerNYC
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To: BikerNYC

How is it any different than seeing Washington's teeth at the Smithsonian?


6 posted on 04/04/2005 12:00:52 PM PDT by Aggie Mama
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To: lizol
Some folks look to be a bit ignorant concerning the role of relics in the history of the Roman Catholic church. Please educate yourselves before dribbling on about things you're not familiar with.

Education cures ignorance.

7 posted on 04/04/2005 12:00:54 PM PDT by Bosco (Remember how you felt on September 11?)
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To: Bosco

However, given modern day embalming techniques, JPII's heart is now unrecognizable.


8 posted on 04/04/2005 12:04:41 PM PDT by sinkspur (Be not afraid. Be not afraid.)
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To: BikerNYC
This might happen only, if the Holy Fahter stated so in his last will.

Another great Pole - Joseph Pilsudski - loved the city of Wilno (Vilnius - today in Lithuania) very much. He knew he wouldn't be buried there, but wanted to have at least his hear buried there. And it happened - to was buried in his mother's grave.
9 posted on 04/04/2005 12:04:52 PM PDT by lizol
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To: 1Peter3v14
Why not - after He's recognized as a Saint.
Do you have any doubts it's going to happen sooner or later?
10 posted on 04/04/2005 12:07:15 PM PDT by lizol
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To: lizol

I think the Pope should be buried in Poland with his immediate family...


11 posted on 04/04/2005 12:08:19 PM PDT by ladiesview61
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To: lizol

Judge Greer ruled he has to be buried in Italy.


12 posted on 04/04/2005 12:08:52 PM PDT by Lori675
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To: Blzbba

Not as ghoulish as you think, when compared to the history of Catholicism, and even Christianity in general. Putting aside the various scams that have popped up over the years, having body parts of important figures buried or displayed in more than one location was not uncommon.


13 posted on 04/04/2005 12:09:30 PM PDT by af_vet_rr
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To: Bosco

That was mean and uncalled for.


14 posted on 04/04/2005 12:09:52 PM PDT by ladiesview61
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To: ladiesview61
I'd like it too, very much.
But he doesn't belong to Poland only. He belongs to the World.
15 posted on 04/04/2005 12:10:29 PM PDT by lizol
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To: ladiesview61

I don't think JPII really cares too much where/how his body is buried at this point. Being in the presence of the Creator would make it small in comparison, wouldn't it?


16 posted on 04/04/2005 12:10:40 PM PDT by Bosco (Remember how you felt on September 11?)
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To: lizol

Frank Sinatra left his heart in San Francisco....


17 posted on 04/04/2005 12:11:10 PM PDT by Joe 6-pack
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To: alloysteel

I believe the same happened to Dr. Livingston in Africa.


18 posted on 04/04/2005 12:11:47 PM PDT by twigs
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To: Blzbba

guess whats going to be buried in Little Rock, Ark ?


19 posted on 04/04/2005 12:11:55 PM PDT by kingattax
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To: sinkspur

It has been suggested in private e-mail that his heart was removed before embalming in order to be buried with the Kings and Queens of Poland.


20 posted on 04/04/2005 12:12:08 PM PDT by Siobhan († MEMORY ETERNAL † JOHN PAUL THE GREAT † MEMORY ETERNAL †)
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