Vatican 'didn't know bishop spied'

CNN ^ | January 8, 2007

[lizol]

Vatican 'didn't know bishop spied'

POSTED: 8:38 a.m. EST, January 8, 2007

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -- The Vatican did not know the former Warsaw archbishop had spied for Poland's former communist regime when Pope Benedict XVI nominated him last month, a senior cardinal was quoted as saying on Monday.

Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus resigned on Sunday after admitting to collaborating with Poland's communist secret police -- conduct that the Vatican's top spokesman acknowledged on Sunday had "gravely compromised his authority".

Benedict had defended Wielgus in the face of a rising tide of allegations, and the Vatican sent out a statement last month saying it had taken his past into account when it elevated the former bishop of Plock to the prestigious post.

But Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who heads the Congregation for Bishops, the powerful department which decides the future careers of aspiring churchmen, said that the Vatican did not know the truth about Wielgus.

"When Monsignor Wielgus was nominated, we did not know anything about his collaboration with the secret services," Battista Re was quoted as saying in Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper.

Italy's La Repubblica newspaper, without naming sources, said the pope only received an 80-page fax about Wielgus' spying on Saturday evening. The fax was sent by the Polish government and translated into Benedict's native language, German.

[lizol]

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[lizol]

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[pgkdan]

At least he had the decency to resign. He should now be defrocked or sent to a monastery. That is if Poland doesn't have a jail cell for him.

[Argus]

I always thought the Vatican had better intel than this. Did somebody in the food chain know and not inform Pope Benedict?

[COBOL2Java]

I read this story earlier today, and as I understand what happened, the headline is misleading. The Communists made Wielgus sign a document stating that he would "cooperate" with them as a precondition of allowing him to leave the country to study at a German University. That's all the Polish Communists have on him, AFAIK.

Not saying that it's OK to sign documents of "cooperation", but that's not exactly what I would call "spying" either. If any Freepers know of more details about these accusations, please let me know. Thx!

[WritableSpace]

Ha ha, you wish. One of the most memorable events in Church history was when Pope John Paul II received an envoy from President Regan during the solidarity movement in Poland. The Pope was asked if he could talk with President Regan on a secure phone,(Which The Vatican didn't have) and Pope JPII being surprised at the request, had to ask around if they had such a phone system.

I doubt if they even screen for espionage.

[pgkdan]

That's not what I read last week when I first heard of this. The Polish government is in custody of his written reports to the communists. If what's been alleged is true he is a true traitor, he sold out the Polish Church from top to bottom.

[dfwgator]

I just hope for his eternal soul he didn't do anything that would have put the blood of Father Popieluszko on his hands.

[siunevada]

Under the codenames “Adam” and “Gray,” Wielgus apparently was recruited as a young professor of medieval philosophy in 1973, documents produced from Polish archives this week show, and had contacts with the security forces over the next three decades. Wielgus signed a form promising to collaborate. According to media reports, he received special training, was allowed to travel abroad in exchange for intelligence reports, and provided analyses of his colleagues as well as members of the Polish hierarchy.

Weigel said this material is drawn from more than 100 miles of documents from the security forces which have long been available to scholars and researchers, and that "responsible" scholars from Poland's Institute of National Memory, charged with studying the material, "some of whom are very serious Catholics," had warned that the Wielgus appointment would be a problem.

"This was all avoidable," Weigel said.

On Dec. 12, as the controversy first erupted, the Vatican issued a statement saying that Wielgus' past had been taken into consideration, and that Benedict XVI had “full confidence” in his nominee. Over the last week, however, that confidence crumbled.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1763946/posts

[Loud Mime]

He must not have confessed about his spying.

[lizol]

There are some doubts about Papal Nuncio to Poland - Archbishop Jozef Kowalczyk, who is Polish (and the situation, that a Papal Nuncio serves in his country of origin doesn't happen to often), and has very close relations with Polish bishops.

[lizol]

Here you have a link to some of the original documents from his file - from 70's (unfortunately in Polish).

Some are signed by him (cooperation agreements etc.), some are instructions for him, some are reports about his activity prepared by the security police officers to their supervisors.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1763660/posts?page=32#32

[The Great RJ]

...He should now be defrocked or sent to a monastery...

Amen!

[COBOL2Java]

Thanks for the info. Very sad indeed...

[onyx]

Makes more sense now: Pope Benedict XVI didn't know or have the report until Saturday night.