“The Church asks forgiveness for the conduct of those among her members who, in the years of Communist illegality, disappointed the hopes placed in them by the faithful”, but “these words must not be imposed on those priests who have always conducted themselves according to the dictates of conscience, but round whom today, unjustly, a climate of suspicion has been created”. So writes Archbishop Jozef Zycinski of Lublin in his pastoral letter for Ash Wednesday. He recalls that “for Ash Wednesday this year the Polish bishops are asking for contrition and a profound change of heart, and hope that this day may become for the Church as a whole an important moment of reflection so that an examination of conscience be combined with a sense of responsibility for the truth and an attitude of Christian reconciliation and pardon. Alluding to the letter written by the Polish bishops in 1965, and addressed at the German episcopate, Archbishop Zycinski writes: “to all those who were victims of injustices in those times we once again address these words: We ask for forgiveness”. Immediately after, however, he points out: “These words must not be imposed on those priests who have always conducted themselves according to the dictates of conscience”. The archbishop urges people to “rid themselves of the illusion that the materials produced by those who helped to build a regime based on violence and falsehood can be considered a valid premise for the examination of conscience by the whole nation”. He also warns: “In the name of Christian responsibility for the truth we need to distinguish various kinds of betrayal; for the betrayal of Judas was different from the fear of the Apostles who fled from Gethsemane at the moment of the arrest of Jesus”. “If we ignore these differences – says the archbishop – the half truth will never make us free”, and he adds: “we must not overvalue the half truths created as a means of compulsion, nor the reports of the security services to which the notion of indestructible spirit was totally alien”. The archbishop of Lublin also dwells on the role of the media: “the style of some publications gives proof of an atmosphere of prejudice towards the Church” and he points out that “for a certain type of audience evil would be interesting were it committed by a priest, whereas it is of no interest at all if it is the expression of truth about the tragic events of Polish history”. The archbishop also asks Polish Catholics to proceed to a critical evaluation “both of the evil of former times, and of the new forms of compulsion adopted in the name of media success, political career or the pursuit of fame”. He lastly recalls that “those who are unscrupulous are not just those who years ago were involved in compiling secret reports, but also those today who wish to obtain success at the price of even elementary honesty”.
