Posted on 01/05/2007 10:42:33 PM PST by bd476
Warsaw's new archbishop, Stanislaw W. Wielgus, caught in Eastern Europe's widening witch hunt for former Communist secret police informers, admitted Friday that he had collaborated with the Sluzba Bezpieczenstwa, or Security Service, known as the S.B.
"Before you today, I confess to the mistake committed by me years ago, just as I have confessed to the Holy Father," Bishop Wielgus said in an open letter to Polish Catholics. "By the fact of this entanglement, I have damaged the church."
He said he compounded that damage by denying "facts of this cooperation" in recent days.
Bishop Wielgus insisted, however, that he had neither spied on anyone nor harmed anyone. He said the only thing he ever did was to inform the secret police of his agenda during foreign academic meetings and to promise not to take part in anti-Communist activities.
He said it was up to Pope Benedict XVI to decide whether he would keep his new job, which he took up Friday.
The bishop is to be officially elevated to archbishop during a ceremony on Sunday in Warsaw at St. John's Cathedral, though many voices in Poland have called for him to step down.
The Warsaw archbishopric is a particularly symbolic institution in the former Soviet bloc. The Polish church, together with the Polish-born Pope John Paul II, were crucial supporters of the pro-democracy Solidarity movement, which helped bring down the totalitarian system and end the cold war.
Confirmation that the archbishop collaborated is doubly troubling because the Polish secret police murdered a charismatic anti-Communist priest from the archdiocese, the Rev. Jerzy Popieluszko, in 1984. Warsaw’s departing archbishop, Cardinal Jozef Glemp, waged a quiet battle with the Communist Party in those years.
Many historians argue that a significant segment of the clergy in Poland and other Eastern bloc...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
"Warsaw's new archbishop, Stanislaw W. Wielgus, caught in Eastern Europe's widening witch hunt for former Communist secret police informers, admitted Friday that he had collaborated with the Sluzba Bezpieczenstwa, or Security Service, known as the S.B..."
It's interesting that The New York Times considers the uncovering of Communist secret service informers a witch hunt.
Ping.
Soon as I saw the slimes use the term "witch hunt" I knew it was something I was in favor of before I read the article...
Headline on Gazeta Polska. The article is written in Polish:
Dokumenty IPN w sprawie arcybiskupa Stanisława Wielgusa!
He needs to throw down his pieces of silver, find an ash tree and hang himself.
Here's some background:
Poland.pl
Controversy over Archbishop Wielgus still boiling
2006-12-27, 15:35
Many Polish clergy and reportedly the Vatican don't believe Archbishop Wielgus was a communist spy; journalists promise to produce documents.
Joanna Najfeld reports
The publication by the weekly Gazeta Polska of information on the alleged cooperation of Archbishop Stanisław Wielgus with the former communist intelligence has sparked a heated debate with voices of support for the archbishop coming even from the Vatican.
Meanwhile, the article authors don't back off.
Several days before Christmas, the weekly Gazeta Polska has published an article which claimed that documents have been found proving that Archbishop Stanisław Wielgus, the newly appointed archbishop metropolitan, has in the past collaborated with the communist intelligence. According to the weekly, Bishop Wielgus agreed to be a spy for the communist regime in exchange for better opportunities to pursue his scholarly career. The bishop continued his cooperation with the communists for over 20 years, uninterrupted even by news of brutal murders on priests by the communist secret police, said Gazeta Polska in the article.
Shortly after the publication, voices were raised in defence of Archbishop Wielgus. The bishop himself denied the accusations. He said the documents were fake.
Many church officials and public figures expressed their support and trust in the priest's innocence. Clergy from Warsaw archdiocese have expressed their solidarity with the bishop, accusing Gazeta Polskaof incompetence and bad will. "Unjustified slander and accusations are directed not only against Archbishop Wielgus, but against the Church and the Nation" - wrote the priests in a statement.
Words of support for Archbishop Wielgus came also from the Catholic University of Lublin, of which he used to be the rector.
Fr. Stanisław Wilk, the current university rector says:
'The heroic attitude of Archbishop Wielgus as the rector of the Catholic University of Lublin, and his zealous and non-compromising service to the truth, are the best guarantee of his righteousness. The process of clearing the collective memory, although justified, cannot be conducted in the atmosphere of slander and cannot lead to the trampling of human dignity.'
However, the Editor in Chief of Gazeta Polska, Tomasz Sakiewicz, does not back off from the accusations. He is worried that those who attack his publication are not interested in examining the actual documents. He has decided to publish evidence of the accusations in the next several issues of the paper:
'Few hundred thousand pages of documents prove it. We want the bishops and the Church to take these documents and reveal them. According to Polish law, journalists are not allowed to do this, but Bishop Wielgus could publish them. Everything could be explained the moment the bishops take these documents and show the people what is in them. But they don't want to do that. Most bishops say that they are not interested in reading these documents and they don't want to know the truth. So we have to decide to publish in the few nearest issues of the paper all that we want. This is a big attack on our journalist. We are accused of being enemies of the Church. It's not true; we are very deeply connected with the Church. We just want to know the truth about our Church.'
Tomasz Terlikowski, philosopher and journalist, is afraid that the controversy created by this case can block the process of clearing Polish public life of former communist collaborators, who were present also in the church. Terlikowski appeals for a common sense solution to the problem:
'If the archbishop is not guilty he should first of all sue Gazeta Polska; and secondly, he should call on the historical committee of the Church to set up an investigation of these documents and resolve the issue once and for all - either prove him guilty or clear him of any accusations.
We haven't seen any of these actions. Instead, we have witnessed a vehement personal attack on those who are in favor of the clearing process in the Church. Precisely this lack of common sense decision brings doubts as to the still assumed innocence of bishop Wielgus. This is worrying.'
On Thursday before Christmas, the Vatican Press Office issued a statement saying that the Holy Father Benedict 16 trusts Bishop Wielgus fully and is upholding his appointment to the office of Archbishop Metropolitan of Warsaw. The statement also said that the Vatican has examined Bishop Wielgus's past. The Polish Bishop's conference, commenting on the case, has referred to the Vatican statement.
Says bishop Piotr Libera:
'We appeal to respect the decision of the Holy Father, who has expressed trust in the nominee, giving him the office of the archbishop metropolitan of Warsaw. In solidarity with archbishop Wielgus, we offer to God his person and his new mission.'
However, Tomasz Terlikowski doubts whether the Holy Father could indeed be fully informed on the issue:
'There is a distinction in the Vatican diplomacy between a Pope being 'informed' and a Pope being well-informed. My impression is that this time the Pope was only 'informed', but not 'well informed'.
Polish bishops themselves confirm this by admitting that no-one in the bishops conference or the church historical committee has examined the archives concerning archbishop Wielgus' past.
If the documents have not been examined, then the Vatican cannot be well informed on this. Besides, it was the Vatican press office that has spoken on this. But it is the same press office that only recently published a homily by Pope Benedict which he has never given or prepared.'
The new issue of Gazeta Polska in which the journalists promised to publish evidence of the accusations, is due out tomorrow. Archbishop Wielgus will take the office of archbishop metropolitan of Warsaw on January 7.
Controversy over Archbishop Wielgus still boiling
What a coincidence, those were my thoughts, too. ;)
He has confessed. Poland's laws will determine what happens next.
'He has confessed." - Judas confessed, too.
What a disturbing story. For decades we have heard the inspiring story of Pope John Paul and countless other clerics who bravely stood up to the commies. Some of them paid with their lives. Now this man collaborated with the bad guys? I think he should resign or the Holy Father should replace him.
Jo Anka posted this article from Radio Polonia on December 20, 2006:
Poland's Archbishop Wielgus a former communist spy?
Jo Anka also posted this article also from Radio Polonia on December 27, 2006:
Poland's Archbishop Wielgus controversy contd (a follow up to communist collaboration accusations)
Here's another interesting article from Radio Polonia which Jo Anka posted on October 18, 2006:
Book to reveal identity of Communist-era spies among Polish clergy
He is not the only one. A whole series of prominent clerics have been outed as spies for the former regime. Some were active in Solidarity, etc. One was a noted and charismatic dissident.
It is very divisive in Polish society, and the rumours about who else might have been involved are endless.
Radio Polonia
Case proven, say historians
Documents have been found proving allegations that Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus was a knowing collaborator of the communist era secret services.
Agnieszka Bielawska reports
06.01.07
The allegations of the Archbishops’ cooperation appeared some two weeks ago in the Gazeta Polska weekly. Wielgus has called for the examination of his files in order to clear his name, but after two commissions began studying the documents more accusations followed in the media. The special commission set up by Poland’s ombudsman Janusz Kochanowski issued a statement that the documents leave no doubts that Archbishop Wielgus was an informant.
Andrzej Paczkowski a member of the commission.
There is no field for discussion here. We can speak about motives, effects but the fact is there. This person was a conscious collaborator, but the documents do not state what this person really did. There are instructions, orders but no reports on the accomplished deeds.
Stanisalw Wielgus is to be sworn in as archbishop of the Warsaw diocese on Sunday but opinions prevail that he should resign and explain the proven facts. Tomasz Sakiewicz editor in chief of the Gazeta Polska, the first to raise the matter, says that such an explanation could avoid a serious crisis in the Polish church:
”It's never too late because I believe that Wielgus is responsible for the church and he knows that he caused the crisis. There was never such a crisis in the Polish church and many Polish Catholics believe that he should resign to avoid the crisis....”
The Polish church and the Vatican stand by Archbishop Wielgus, but the Polish churchgoers begin to have doubts. The accusations evoke unease among the faithful for whom the Church was a model of morality and the pillar of opposition to the communists. Tomasz Sakiewicz says that this situation, unless cleared up will undermine the credibility of the Church.
.”Polish people stand by the church and believe their priests, but now everybody knows he is lying - it is even worse that his cooperation with the communists.
Archbishop Stanisalw Wielgus is not the first high-ranking cleric to be accused of working with the communist era secret services. The Polish Church however was loath to open an internal probe, but research had been started by Father Tadeusz Issakowicz Zaleski.
He devoted a year studying the National remembrance Institute files which showed that only some 10% of the Polish clergy agreed to cooperate with the communists. Father Zaleski underlines that the like the former metropolitan of Krakow cardinal Franciszek Macharski or Archbishop Zieba knew how to refuse the offers
”I think their examples show that the Polish priests could stand for their Church. They did not mind their church career but had other values to defend.”
Father Zaleski is publishing book about the invigilation of the Polish clergy by the communist secret services and devotes much space in it to those who had the courage to refuse the secret services. He is convinced that the case of Archbishop Wielgus has to be very carefully examined since now the archbishop has lost his credibility and may undermine the role he is to play as the Archbishop of the Warsaw diocese.
Case proven, say historians
Dla Zagranicy Polskie Radio
Two in three Poles think Archbishop Wielgus should resign
05.01.2007
Two in every three Poles think that priests who collaborated with the country’s communist-era secret service should not be appointed to prominent posts in the church hierarchy and that Stanisław Wielgus should resign from his post of Warsaw’s new archbishop.
According to a poll by the OBOP Institute, 41 percent of the respondents believe that he should first explain all accusations concerning his involvement with the secret service, while one in every four Poles thinks that he should resign immediately, before Sunday’s induction ceremony in Warsaw’s Cathedral.
Twenty percent of Poles hold the view that archbishop Wielgus should succeed cardinal Glemp as Warsaw’s new archbishop.
Two in three Poles think Archbishop Wielgus should resign
Dla Zagranicy Polskie Radio
"I did harm to the Church" says Wielgus
05.01.2007
Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus has made an apology in a special statement to the Warsaw diocese, admitting, in effect, that he has lied in recent days over allegations of collaboration with the communist era secret services.
The Archbishop said that: “By the fact that I was involved [with the communist services] I did great harm to the Church and I harmed it again recently in the face of a heated media campaign when I denied the fact of this collaboration’.
The apology and admission comes just two days before Stanislaw Wielgus is scheduled to be formally sworn in as Archbishop of Warsaw.
In a statement given earlier in the day, however, he said he had talked to the communist secret police in order to be allowed to travel abroad but denied being a secret informer.
He said he had not carried out any spy missions and had not done any harm to anyone with his words or actions.
The Church commission, which studied secret police documents, acknowledged that the archbishop had spied for the communist-era secret services, saying that there was sufficient evidence to confirm that he was a willing informer.
"I did harm to the Church" says Wielgus
Archbishop Wielgus first lied about the many meetings with the Communist Secret Police, then he admitted it, but said that he just told them his itinerary, and that now he is telling the truth.
The initial denial then the lie makes it very difficult for anyone to believe him.
Sounds like he has been lying about his involvement. Why should anyone believe him now when he says, "he had neither spied on anyone nor harmed anyone."
Tomorrow, Sunday is the big day for Archbishop Wielgus in Warsaw.
What is the latest? Do people believe that he will resign or that the Vatican will force him to resign or will he be inducted as Warsaw's Archbishop as planned?
That's what I was thinking.
First he lied, then was caught out in his lies, then he said, "well yes, I was lying to you then but now I'm telling you the truth..."
It's not fun bringing up old wounds or making any comparisons but...
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