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CajunRick
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Posted: Sun Jan 7th, 2007 11:16 pm |
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Archbishop Wielgus Had Collaborated With Communist Secret Police
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 7, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Warsaw's Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus, who acknowledged collaborating with Poland's Communist secret police.
In a note issued today by the Holy See, the apostolic nunciature in Poland communicated that Warsaw's new archbishop presented the Pope his "resignation of the canonical office." The archbishop was originally scheduled to begin his pastoral ministry in Warsaw today.
"The Holy Father has accepted the resignation of Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus and has appointed His Eminence, Cardinal Jozef Glemp, primate of Poland, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Warsaw until further indication," added the note issued by Archbishop Jozef Kowalczyk, apostolic nuncio in Poland.
Archbishop Wielgus, 67, acknowledged in a statement that in his youth he collaborated with the secret police, after a statement of Poland's Historical Commission was published on Friday, which confirmed the relationship of the then young priest with the Security Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The commission clarified that, in virtue of the analysis of documents of the National Memory Institute, "it cannot be affirmed that this collaboration had consequences for persons or institutions." At any rate, this type of collaboration was prohibited by the episcopate.
Time of suffering
In a statement issued today, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, said: "Archbishop Wielgus' conduct in the past years of the Communist regime in Poland has seriously compromised his authority, including before the faithful.
"Therefore, despite his humble and moving request for forgiveness, the resignation to the See of Warsaw and its speedy acceptance on the part of the Holy Father has seemed to be an appropriate solution to address the situation of disorientation that has been created in that nation."
The Vatican spokesman added: "It is a time of great suffering for a Church to which we all owe very much and which we love, which has given us pastors of the greatness of Cardinal Stefan Wyszybnski and, above all, Pope John Paul II.
"The universal Church must feel spiritually sympathetic to the Church in Poland and support her with prayer and encouragement, so that she will soon regain her serenity."
"A strange alliance"
Father Lombardi continued: "At the same time, it is appropriate to observe that the case of Archbishop Wielgus is not the first and will probably not be the last case of attack on personalities of the Church in virtue of the documentation of the services of the past regime.
"There is enormous 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."
The press office director added: "After so many years of the Communist regime, when the great and untouchable figure of Pope John Paul II is no longer here, the present wave of attacks against the Catholic Church in Poland does not seem to be a sincere search for transparency and truth, but rather a strange alliance between persecutors of the past and other adversaries, a vengeance on the part of those who, in the past, had persecuted her and were defeated by the faith and the thirst for freedom of the Polish people."
Father Lombardi explained that members of the Church must be faithful to the truth: "'The truth will make you free,' says Christ. The Church is not afraid of the truth and, to be faithful to her Lord, her members must be able to acknowledge their own faults.
"We hope that the Church in Poland will be able to live and surmount with courage and lucidity this difficult period, so that she will be able to continue offering her precious and extraordinary contribution of faith and evangelical drive to the European and universal Church."
The above article is reposted from Zenit.
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BodRod
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Posted: Mon Jan 8th, 2007 12:39 pm |
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<<<"resignation of the canonical office." >>>
Does that mean that he is still a priest and still an archbishop but currently has no office or territory to serve?
____________________
Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro.
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CajunRick
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Posted: Mon Jan 8th, 2007 12:47 pm |
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BodRod wrote: <<<"resignation of the canonical office." >>>
Does that mean that he is still a priest and still an archbishop but currently has no office or territory to serve?
A priest is always a priest and a bishop is always a bishop, even if he is laicized. I presume it means that he no longer has an office (i.e., position) and has not been laicized (i.e., his priestly authority removed) so he no longer has the authority over any diocese. It is also possible that he remains an auxillary bishop. I really don't know for sure.
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