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Catholic World News News Feature

Vatican, Polish bishops reflect on crisis January 10, 2007

The Church in Poland has demonstrated the courage and fidelity needed to overcome the crisis caused by the forced resignation of Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus, according to the Vatican Secretary of State.

“It is a courageous Church, a faithful Church, even if it has experienced moments of uncertainty, of compromise and times when it was a victim,” Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone told a Vatican Radio audience.

Catholics in Poland today “are living through moments of suffering and conflict reflecting their recent history,” the Secretary of State continued. He pointed out that such difficulties are not new, since “Poland is a nation that has suffered during her entire history.”

The Polish bishops’ conference has scheduled a special meeting for Friday, January 12, to discuss the crisis that unfolded when Archbishop-elect Wielgus was forced to resign. The bishops will discuss not only the future of the Warsaw archdiocese but also the likelihood that other prominent clerics will face charges of having cooperated with the former Communist government.

Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, meanwhile, told a radio audience that if the installation of Archbishop Wielgus had proceeded on schedule, “the drama that the Church is now living would be even worse.” In an interview with the Polish Jedynka radio station, the prime minister said that the crisis facing the Church is a major issue for the entire country, since Catholicism is an important national institution.

In a related development, a Polish historian, Ian Zaryn, who studies the Communist-era archives operated by Institute for National Remembrance, has reported that some confusion surrounding the file on Archbishop Wielgus reflects a simple clerical error. The file was improperly labeled “Welgus,” with a letter missing, he said.