A free Church

"He was a just man", "such justice, full of humble obedience to God’s will, was the basis of his deep love for God and man, which was his light, inspiration, and strength in the difficult ministry of leading the Church at a time when significant social and political transformations were affecting Poland and Europe". With these words Benedict XVI remembered cardinal Józef Glemp in the telegram of condolences to Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz, metropolitan archbishop of Warsaw, Poland. The message was read by the apostolic nuncio in Poland Msgr. Celestino Migliore during the solemn Mass officiated by Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz on January 28 at the end of a period of three days of national mourning in suffrage of the late primate. Cardinal Glemp passed away at the age of 83, on January 23, he was tumulated at the end of a solemn memorial service in Warsaw’s cathedral. The late cardinal guided the Polish Church from 1981 to 2009. He served as President of the Polish Bishops’ conference until 2004, when he was appointed metropolitan archbishop of Warsaw, until 2007. A man of great authoritativeness. In the homily delivered during the funeral service Msgr. Józef Kowalczyk, primate of the Polish Church, recalled the courage of his predecessor "in distinguishing good from evil" hailing him "a man of great authoritativeness". In 1981, after the introduction of martial law in Poland by General Jaruzelski, Card. Glemp’s appeals for dialogue and understanding earned him the criticism of a considerable portion of the anticommunist opposition. In 1989, however, he took the risky decision to endorse, with the participation of representatives of the Catholic Church, the "Round Table negotiations" that led to the first free elections and triggered the process of democratic transformations. The late cardinal’s tenacity in defending Poland from unnecessary bloodshed that could have occurred if, after the introduction of martial law, the emotions of those who strongly opposed the unjust repressions introduced in the country by General Jaruzelski on orders from Moscow had prevailed, was recalled by the President of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, Msgr. Jozef Michalik. In the last farewell to cardinal Glemp in Warsaw’s Cathedral, before the coffin was placed in a black granite sarcophagus in the crypt beneath the church, Msgr. Michalik emphasized that the late Cardinal led his life "so as not to be ashamed of anything and without having to hide anything". Marcin Przeciszewski, editor-in-chief of the Polish Press Agency Kai, said that "thanks to card. Józef Glemp we have a free Church in a free Poland". In the years of democratic transformations in Poland, reiterated Przeciszewski, influential groups were eager to confine the Catholic Church to the margins of society and "enclose it within the sacristy". Cardinal Glemp managed to give precedence to the reasons that eventually made Poland the country with the highest number of practicing Catholics in Europe".The will. At the end of the funeral service Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz proceeded to read the will of card. Glemp in which the prelate thanks God "for the gift of faith" that "despite all weaknesses and sins has been continuous and uninterrupted". In the will, the late cardinal pleads forgiveness "for all failures and weaknesses". The casket of the cardinal was accompanied throughout the ceremony by the guard of honour to the presence of the President of Poland, Bronislaw Komorowski who recalled the Cardinal’s deep love for his homeland. "His life, his commitment and his merits now belong to the history of the Church and the country", he said. Komorowski added that he was also "personally grateful" to the cardinal for having helped his family during the military regime of Jaruzelski. The funeral liturgy was concelebrated by over one hundred cardinals and bishops from all over Poland and from different parts of the world, including the Cardinals Joachim Meisner, archbishop of Cologne, Peter Erdo, archbishop of Budapest and president of the CCEE, Martinez Sistach, archbishop of Barcelona, Dominik Duka, Archbishop of Prague, Josip Bozanic, Archbishop of Zagreb, and Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity. The funeral service celebrated in Warsaw’s cathedral, was also attended by the presidents of both chambers of the Polish Parliament, the former President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, and the Polish ambassador to the Holy See, Hanna Suchocka. The leader of Solidarnoœæ Lech Walesa and the first president of Council of Ministers of democratic Poland, Tadeusz Mazowiecki were also present. The narrow space inside the cathedral prevented participation in the ceremony of thousands of faithful who, however, followed the rite on giant TV screens placed in the nearby piazza in front of the Royal Palace and broadcast live.