POLAND
"It’s the Church’s task not to participate in political conflicts, but to defend justice and defend the poor. It is just for this reason that the Church does not identify herself with politicians or with the interests of any party", declared Metropolitan Archbishop Damian Zimon of Katowice, addressing over 100,000 pilgrims at Piekary Slaskie at the end of May. "Only thanks to her independence added the archbishop can the Church teach inalienable values, form consciences and offer choices of life outside the political sphere". Thousands of pilgrims, including Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, and many representatives of the various political parties, took part in the traditional pilgrimage of men and youths to the Sanctuary of Our Lady "of love" and of "social justice" at Piekary Slaskie. Regular participants in the pilgrimages to Piekry Slaskie, begun sixty years ago, included the then Archbishop of Krakow Karol Wojtyla. John Paul II each year addressed a special message to the pilgrims. Benedict XVII, who is continuing this tradition, this year sent a telegram to the pilgrims in which he recalled the words of his recent apostolic exhortation: "Work is of primary importance for the realization of man and the development of society, and that’s why it always needs to be organized and performed in full respect for human dignity and at the service of the common good. At the same time, it is indispensable that man does not let himself be subjected by work, and does not idolise it, by pretending to find in it the ultimate and definitive meaning of life".
