The media and the appointment of a bishop”For some time already, there have been worrying signs from the social media, such as suggestions or even requests affecting the prerogatives of the Holy See”: the statement was issued a few days ago by the Presidium of Poland’s Bishops Conference in the context of a lively public debate regarding the appointment of the new archbishop of Danzig.For the past few days, Polish media have been taking for granted the replacement, due to age-limits, of the present pastor of the diocese of Gdansk, Msgr. Tadeusz Goclowski (b. 1931), with Msgr. Slawoj Leszek Glodz (63), previously holding the post of military ordinary and presently archbishop of Warsaw and Prague. The media have been reporting strong criticism to this possibility including that of Lech Walesa, concerned for the appointment of the successor of Msgr.Goclowski, who has been chairing the diocese since 1984. “With disappointment we acknowledged that the media, including the public media, have been attempting to undermine the practice of appointing diocesan bishops in our Country. Such attitude damages both the Church as also society. The situation is worsened by the aggressive and antagonistic tones marking the debates on this issue”. In conformity with the Kep statute, in the most serious cases the Presidium can voice its opinion on public issues. In their statement, the Presidium members – Kep President Msgr. Jozef Michalik, vice-president Msgr. Stanislaw Gadecki and the secretary Msgr. Stanislaw Budzik – pleaded to renounce such practices “for the good of the Country”, while asking Church officials to “receive the decisions of the Holy Father in a spirit of faith and understanding, which characterized the pontificate of the Servant of God John Paul II”. Reflections over a prizeThese past days Msgr. Stanislaw Wielgus, former archbishop of Warsaw who renounced his post after having been charged with collaborating for Communist secret services, received the most prestigious recognition awarded by the Lublin’s Catholic University. (Kul). The prize, dedicated to Father Idzi Radziszewski, founder of the University where also Karol Wojtyla had taught, is awarded to the most outstanding scholars since 1974. Past recipients include Professors Wladyslaw Tatarkiewicz, Stefan Swiezawski, Mieczyslaw Krapiec. “The merits of Msgr. Wielgus in the scientific field in the spirit of Christian humanism are unquestionable”, claimed Augustyn Eckmann, President of the Association of Scholars in charge of awarding the prize. In his laudation Stanislaw Janeczek remarked that Msgr. Wielgus has been chosen for “his faith in the creative power of humanity which he not only proclaimed but also implemented by setting the example of concrete Christian humanism”. In his acknowledgements, Msgr. Wielgus recalled that for over a year he has been the object of “violent attacks, defamation and slander concocted by certain powers and disseminated by complacent media”. Some representatives of the Catholic Polish world expressed their bitterness over the words of Msgr. Wielgus and the award. Msgr. Jozef Zycinski, archbishop of Lublin and Great Chancellor of the University, responded by “asking to combine the respect for truth with Christian compassion”. He pointed out that “we should all pursue the path of unity inspired to the spirit of the Cenacle”. He mentioned the words of the primate of Poland, cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, who said that man “recovers his inner freedom when he forgets and forgives”. Msgr. Zycinski remarked that debates over the prize to Msgr.Wielgus “can be the path towards true freedom if the vision indicated by John Paul II in the Redemptor hominis is saught”.An anniversary which nobody forgetsIn view of Passover festivities, this year’s celebrations for the 65th anniversary of Warsaw’s ghetto uprising (April 19, 1943) have been anticipated by a few days. Commemorations will be attended by the President of the State of Israel Shimon Peres. On April 14 President Peres recited the prayer for the dead in Treblinka’s Nazi concentration camp where over 300thousand Jews were killed. In 1939, one third of Warsaw’s residents, which at the time had some 1.3 million inhabitants, were of Jewish origin. Some 450thousand Jews were segregated in Warsaw’s ghetto and in the summer of 1942 Nazis began their mass extermination. The uprising began on April 19 1943 and lasted one month: 14thousand died. On April 19, the anniversary of the uprising, an important initiative will take place in Warsaw: people will be holding hands to form a wide human chain and to the sound of sirens they will pay homage to the hundreds of thousands victims.
