Archbishop collaborated with Communists, resigns
Sunday, January 7th, 2007The new Archbishop of Warsaw, Stanislaw Wielgus, dramatically resigned this morning, during the Mass intended for his own installation. Having repeatedly denied his involvement Communit-era secret police in the past, he had confessed on Friday to collaborating.
The Roman Catholic Church plays a huge role in Polish social and political life, and Poland in turn is a prominent component of the Church in Europe and the world, among other things being the birthplace of previous Pope, Jean-Paul II (Karol Józef Wojtyła). Wielgus’s resignation represents a personal embarassment to new Pope, Benedict XVI (Joseph Alois Ratzinger), who appointed him last month.
Despite brutal Communist persecution of the Church in Poland, it is estimated that up to 15% of Polish Catholic priests were collaborators.
(Via BBC.)
