Stanislaw Wielgus

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Archbishop Stanisław Wielgus

Stanisław Wojciech Wielgus [ staˈniswaf ˈvɔjtɕɛx ˈvjɛlɡus ] (born April 23, 1939 in Wierzchowiska near Janów Lubelski ) is retired Archbishop of Warsaw .

Life

Wielgus received in the June 10, 1962 Lublin the sacrament of Holy Orders . At the same time he began his academic career, which led him to a professorship in medieval philosophy at the Catholic University of Lublin , of which he was also rector from 1989 to 1998. In the seventies he received a scholarship at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich . His most important publication during his studies in Germany is the written version of his speech "The truth wins against violence." a. published in the Münsterische Zeitung on November 18, 1991.

On May 24, 1999, Pope John Paul II appointed him Bishop of Płock. The Archbishop of Warsaw, Józef Cardinal Glemp , ordained him as bishop on August 1st of the same year. Since 2006, Wielgus has been co-chair of the Joint Commission of the Polish Government and the Polish Episcopate. On December 6, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him . as Archbishop of Warsaw as successor to Józef Cardinal Glemp. Shortly after the canonical inauguration on January 5, 2007 and before the planned inauguration ceremony on January 7, 2007, he resigned because of his contacts with the Polish secret service in the 1970s; the resignation was accepted by the Pope. At the same time Wielgus was appointed titular archbishop of Viminacium .

Contacts with the Polish State Security Service

At the beginning of January 2007, entanglements with the Polish State Security Service in the 1970s became public, leading to a controversial discussion among the Polish public about his impending inauguration. On the eve of his official inauguration on January 6, 2007, Wielgus said that he regretted his contacts with the State Security Service.

The case of the archbishop, who was on the verge of becoming one of the highest moral authorities in Poland, hit the country at a time when it was already embroiled in a heated argument about how to deal with the legacies of the communist secret services. The Polish journalist Piotr Semka said: "If there is an assumption of office in spite of the publications, it would be an informal amnesty for all people of the Church who have worked with the secret service." On January 7, 2007, Wielgus announced in the Warsaw Cathedral Bishops, priests and faithful his resignation. The Pope accepted the resignation and appointed Wielgus' predecessor Józef Glemp as apostolic administrator until further notice . Instead of the solemn inauguration, there was an atonement service in which Primate Józef Glemp tried to arouse understanding for the behavior of his fellow brother: Even the apostle Peter was not without mistakes and had denied Jesus, but he was entrusted with the leadership of the church.

Effects in the Polish press

On January 5, 2007, the daily Dziennik published a survey it had commissioned about the archbishop-elect of Warsaw, Stanislaw Wielgus, because of his contacts with the secret service. Accordingly, 67 percent of those questioned believed that Wielgus should step down from his position. Only 20% would have accepted him as archbishop.

In the meantime, Cardinal Józef Glemp came under increasing criticism of the newspaper, which apparently sees itself as the critical mouthpiece of the modern conservative forces in Poland: “The great mistake of the Primate: [He] ... stood in front of the faithful to make clear : If it depended on me, Wielgus would be Archbishop. "

There are now voices that the Wielgus case is only the tip of the iceberg. The press speaks of a further twelve bishops who are said to have worked with the security services. The Institute for National Remembrance , which is responsible for the secret service files , assumes that 10 to 15 percent of all Polish priests were in contact with the domestic secret service Służba Bezpieczeństwa .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Document: Archbishop Wielgus explains his contacts with the Polish Stasi . ( Memento of October 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Vatican Radio , January 6, 2007
  2. ↑ The great fear of Stanislaw Wielgus . In: FAZ , 5. January 2007
  3. ^ Poland: Communication from the Nunciature . ( Memento of October 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Vatican Radio , January 7, 2007
  4. ↑ "Erz-Kapo" resigns . In: taz , January 8, 2007
  5. ↑ netzeitung.de ( Memento from January 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ dziennik.pl
  7. ↑ quoted from linkszeitung.de ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ↑ Twelve other bishops under Stasi suspicion . In: Die Welt , January 10, 2007
  9. ^ Wielgus affair: cracks in the bulwark of the Polish reaction .
predecessor Office successor
Zygmunt Kamiński Bishop of Płock
1999–2007 		Piotr Libera
Cardinal Józef Glemp Archbishop of Warsaw
2007 		Kazimierz Cardinal Nycz
personal data
SURNAME Wielgus, Stanislaw
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wielgus, Stanisław Wojciech
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Archbishop emeritus of Warsaw
DATE OF BIRTH April 23, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH Wierzchowiska near Janów Lubelski , Poland