Made public today was a Letter from Benedict XVI to Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus, emeritus of Warsaw, Poland. The text bears the date of February 12.
The Holy Father thanks the archbishop "for the trust with which you opened your soul before me, showing the anguished suffering of you heart throughout your life as a priest and bishop, until the moment of your resignation from the office of archbishop of Warsaw.
"In recent times I have participated in you sufferings and wish to assure you of my spiritual closeness and fraternal understanding.
"As for the past, I am fully aware of the exceptional circumstances in which you had to undertake your service, when the communist regime in Poland used all possible means to suffocate the freedom of citizens, and particularly of the clergy.
"As rector of the University of Lublin and as bishop of Plock you gave proof of your great piety, and of your profound love for Jesus Christ and for the Church.
"When, one month ago, you presented your resignation in the awareness that the situation that had arisen made it impossible for you to begin your episcopal service with the indispensable degree of authority, I clearly saw in this act a profound sensitivity for the good of the Church of Warsaw and of Poland, as well as your own humility and detachment from office.
"I would like, first of all, to encourage you to maintain faith and serenity of heart. I express the desire that you may resume your activity at the service of Christ, in whatever way proves possible, so that your vast and profound knowledge and priestly piety may be used for the good of the beloved Church in Poland.
"The episcopal mission, today as in the past, is marked by suffering. May Our Lord never cease to support you with His grace. Help will also come from the friendship of brother bishops and of the people who have known and respected you."
VIS
Showing posts with label Wielgus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wielgus. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Welcome and Wielgus Comments
Welcome to all of you who are coming over from the Times Online article. It was an honor to be included between Dom and Amy.
Now here is my response to the article.
First one must remember that communique I posted was written before Archbishop Wielgus admitted to aiding the Communist government in Poland. At the time the Archbishop was taken at his word. Unfortunately, the truth was that he had spied.
Since he has admitted it, resigning was the right thing to do. The Church needs leaders with inspire confidence, not questions or possible scandal. While I do not know the reasons why the Archbishop cooperated, I do know that he cannot be judged based on his past actions. Perhaps he was afraid? Perhaps he was misled? Perhaps he was simply a willing participant?
It doesn't make as much difference what he did then as what he does now. We all have things in our past that we wish we hadn't done, but the past cannot be erased. Unfortunately, as this has shown, the things we do can have consequences for the future.
For me, the Archbishop's mistake is not that he had cooperated, but that he tried to cover it up. Had he admitted it, we probably wouldn't still be talking about it.
While we do that confession, confessing our sins does not mean we are free from the worldy effects of our sins. A robber still has to turn himself into police and serve his sentence. The Church does not teach that confession lifts or should lift those responsibilities.
It is unfortunately that this talented bishop is now unable to serve the Archdiocese of Warsaw, but the good of the faithful must come first. If Archbishop Wielgus' involvement would cause the faithful to doubt his sanctity or the faithfulness to the Church, then it was right for him to resign.
Now here is my response to the article.
First one must remember that communique I posted was written before Archbishop Wielgus admitted to aiding the Communist government in Poland. At the time the Archbishop was taken at his word. Unfortunately, the truth was that he had spied.
Since he has admitted it, resigning was the right thing to do. The Church needs leaders with inspire confidence, not questions or possible scandal. While I do not know the reasons why the Archbishop cooperated, I do know that he cannot be judged based on his past actions. Perhaps he was afraid? Perhaps he was misled? Perhaps he was simply a willing participant?
It doesn't make as much difference what he did then as what he does now. We all have things in our past that we wish we hadn't done, but the past cannot be erased. Unfortunately, as this has shown, the things we do can have consequences for the future.
For me, the Archbishop's mistake is not that he had cooperated, but that he tried to cover it up. Had he admitted it, we probably wouldn't still be talking about it.
While we do that confession, confessing our sins does not mean we are free from the worldy effects of our sins. A robber still has to turn himself into police and serve his sentence. The Church does not teach that confession lifts or should lift those responsibilities.
It is unfortunately that this talented bishop is now unable to serve the Archdiocese of Warsaw, but the good of the faithful must come first. If Archbishop Wielgus' involvement would cause the faithful to doubt his sanctity or the faithfulness to the Church, then it was right for him to resign.
Monday, January 08, 2007
The Official Release regarding Archbishop Wielgus
In a note released at midday yesterday, the apostolic nunciature to Poland stated that: "Metropolitan Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus of Warsaw, Poland, on the day in which he was scheduled to enter the cathedral basilica to begin his pastoral ministry in the Church of Warsaw, has presented His Holiness Benedict XVI with his resignation from canonical office, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.
"The Holy Father has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus and has appointed Cardinal Jozef Glemp, primate of Poland, as diocesan administrator of Warsaw, until further notice." The note bears the signature of Archbishop Jozef Kowalczyk, apostolic nuncio to Poland.
For his part, Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. released the following declaration to journalists today:
"Archbishop Wielgus' conduct in the past years of the communist regime in Poland has seriously compromised his authority, even with the faithful. Therefore, despite his humble and touching request for forgiveness, his resignation from the see of Warsaw and its prompt acceptance on the part of the Holy Father seemed an appropriate way to address the disorientation that has been created in that country.
"It is a time of great suffering for a Church to which we all owe so much and which we love. A Church that has given us pastors of the stature of Cardinal Stefan Wyszybnski and, above all, of Pope John Paul II. The universal Church must feel spiritually united to the Church in Poland and support her with prayer and encouragement, so she may soon recover her serenity.
"At the same time, it must be remarked that the case of Archbishop Wielgus is not the first and will probably not be the last time that personalities of the Church are attacked on the basis of documentation from the security services of the former regime. There is an enormous amount of material and, in attempting to assess its value and draw reliable conclusions, it must not be forgotten that it was produced by officials of an oppressive and blackmailing regime.
"So many years after the end of the communist regime, with the loss of the great and unassailable figure of Pope John Paul II, the current wave of attacks against the Catholic Church in Poland, rather than a sincere search for transparency and truth, has many hallmarks of being a strange alliance between the persecutors of the past and their adversaries, a vendetta by those who used to persecute the Church and were defeated by the faith and the thirst for freedom of the Polish people.
"'The truth will make you free,' says Christ. The Church is not afraid of the truth and her members, to be faithful to their Lord, must be able to acknowledge their own faults. We hope that the Church in Poland will be able to live and surmount this difficult period courageously and clearly, so that she will be able to continue to offer her precious and extraordinary contribution of faith and evangelical energy to the Church in Europe and the world."
VIS
"The Holy Father has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus and has appointed Cardinal Jozef Glemp, primate of Poland, as diocesan administrator of Warsaw, until further notice." The note bears the signature of Archbishop Jozef Kowalczyk, apostolic nuncio to Poland.
For his part, Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. released the following declaration to journalists today:
"Archbishop Wielgus' conduct in the past years of the communist regime in Poland has seriously compromised his authority, even with the faithful. Therefore, despite his humble and touching request for forgiveness, his resignation from the see of Warsaw and its prompt acceptance on the part of the Holy Father seemed an appropriate way to address the disorientation that has been created in that country.
"It is a time of great suffering for a Church to which we all owe so much and which we love. A Church that has given us pastors of the stature of Cardinal Stefan Wyszybnski and, above all, of Pope John Paul II. The universal Church must feel spiritually united to the Church in Poland and support her with prayer and encouragement, so she may soon recover her serenity.
"At the same time, it must be remarked that the case of Archbishop Wielgus is not the first and will probably not be the last time that personalities of the Church are attacked on the basis of documentation from the security services of the former regime. There is an enormous amount of material and, in attempting to assess its value and draw reliable conclusions, it must not be forgotten that it was produced by officials of an oppressive and blackmailing regime.
"So many years after the end of the communist regime, with the loss of the great and unassailable figure of Pope John Paul II, the current wave of attacks against the Catholic Church in Poland, rather than a sincere search for transparency and truth, has many hallmarks of being a strange alliance between the persecutors of the past and their adversaries, a vendetta by those who used to persecute the Church and were defeated by the faith and the thirst for freedom of the Polish people.
"'The truth will make you free,' says Christ. The Church is not afraid of the truth and her members, to be faithful to their Lord, must be able to acknowledge their own faults. We hope that the Church in Poland will be able to live and surmount this difficult period courageously and clearly, so that she will be able to continue to offer her precious and extraordinary contribution of faith and evangelical energy to the Church in Europe and the world."
VIS
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Archbishop Wielgus Resigns
Just 2 days after his installation as Archbishop of Warsaw, Archbishop Stanislaus Wielgus has resigned.
From ABC News:
From ABC News:
Warsaw's new archbishop resigned amid a scandal about his cooperation with the communist-era secret police, Poland's Roman Catholic Church said Sunday.
Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus, who took the office on Friday, has submitted his resignation, Poland's Episcopate said in a statement.
The church said Pope Benedict XVI asked the outgoing archbishop, Cardinal Jozef Glemp, to administer the archdiocese until a replacement is found.
(...)
Wielgus acknowledged Friday that he did have contact with the secret service, but he said that documents indicating he collaborated were written by the secret police and reflected their account of events, not the truth.Read the complete article here.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Archbishop Wielgus Was Not a Spy
Given below is the text of a communique released by the Polish Episcopal Conference, and of another released by the Holy See Press Office, both concerning the recent appointment of Bishop Stanislaw Wojciech Wielgus of Plock, Poland as the new metropolitan archbishop of Warsaw.
Communique from the Polish Episcopal Conference:
"On the subject of the accusations launched by the Polish media against Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus, the presidency of the Polish Episcopal Conference draws attention to the public injury that has been inflicted against a specific person's right to a good reputation.
"The situation that has been created provokes even greater unease because it is a clear example of 'wildcat lustration' (lustration being a technical term to refer to the procedure for attributing responsibility of collaborating with the security services of the communist regime). Such a situation is particularly offensive in the case of an ecclesiastic. In fact, the simple fact of a conversation taking place between a priest and members of the communist security services cannot of itself prove immoral collaboration; especially because, not infrequently, such conversations were of an administrative nature, or had to be undertaken for pastoral reasons or to study, and with the consent of the bishop.
"We thus request that respect be shown for the decision of the Holy Father Benedict XVI, who has expressed his faith in the person appointed, entrusting him with the office of metropolitan archbishop of Warsaw.
"Expressing our solidarity with Archbishop Wielgus, we entrust his person and the task he has been given to God.
"We trust that the media storm that has been created will not ruin the religious and family atmosphere that accompanies the Feast of Christmas."
Communique from the Holy See Press Office:
"The Holy See, in choosing to appoint the new metropolitan archbishop of Warsaw, took into consideration all the circumstances of his life, including those regarding his past. This means that the Holy Father nourishes complete trust in Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus and, in full awareness, has entrusted him with the mission of pastor of the archdiocese of Warsaw."
VIS
Communique from the Polish Episcopal Conference:
"On the subject of the accusations launched by the Polish media against Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus, the presidency of the Polish Episcopal Conference draws attention to the public injury that has been inflicted against a specific person's right to a good reputation.
"The situation that has been created provokes even greater unease because it is a clear example of 'wildcat lustration' (lustration being a technical term to refer to the procedure for attributing responsibility of collaborating with the security services of the communist regime). Such a situation is particularly offensive in the case of an ecclesiastic. In fact, the simple fact of a conversation taking place between a priest and members of the communist security services cannot of itself prove immoral collaboration; especially because, not infrequently, such conversations were of an administrative nature, or had to be undertaken for pastoral reasons or to study, and with the consent of the bishop.
"We thus request that respect be shown for the decision of the Holy Father Benedict XVI, who has expressed his faith in the person appointed, entrusting him with the office of metropolitan archbishop of Warsaw.
"Expressing our solidarity with Archbishop Wielgus, we entrust his person and the task he has been given to God.
"We trust that the media storm that has been created will not ruin the religious and family atmosphere that accompanies the Feast of Christmas."
Communique from the Holy See Press Office:
"The Holy See, in choosing to appoint the new metropolitan archbishop of Warsaw, took into consideration all the circumstances of his life, including those regarding his past. This means that the Holy Father nourishes complete trust in Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus and, in full awareness, has entrusted him with the mission of pastor of the archdiocese of Warsaw."
VIS
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