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Letter #41, 2024, Sat, Oct 19: Jerzy[2024-10-19][Engleză]Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko. He died 40 years ago today, at the age of just 37, on October 19, 1984, in his home country of Poland, then under Communist rule. He was arrested and killed in a brutal way by the nations secret police, evidently on the express orders of the KGB in Moscow. It was thought that his death would end the influence of his heart and soul, yet we still remember him today, after 40 yearsPope John Paul II and Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko. He was beatified on June 6, 2010 by Cardinal Angelo Amato on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI Pope John Paul II venerates the tomb of Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko (link) in 1991. Popiełuszko was posthumously awarded the Order of the White Eagle, Polands highest decoration, in 2009. After death, he was buried in St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, Warsaw, where millions of visitors came to pay him tribute, including famous politicians like then U.S. Vice President George Bush in September 1987. A Christian is called in Jesus Christ to victory. Such victory is inseparable from hardship, from suffering, just as Christs Resurrection is inseparable from the Cross. St. John Paul II, speaking of the death of Fr. Jerzy Popieluszko in the autumn of 1984 Letter #41, 2024, Saturday, October 19: Jerzy When his dead body was found, those who saw the corpse said they had never seen such a maltreated and tormented human body. He had been beaten and tortured. Thus, in agony, died Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko. Today is the 40th anniversary of the day in 1984 when a Polish priest was kidnapped, and then killed, only to become the conscience of his nation. As Poland faces difficulties today, 40 years later, the Polish people may turn again for inspiration to the example of this courageous priest, who gave up his life for the faith and for the freedom of Poland. Dear Fr. Jerzy Popieluszko, we pray that you watch over Poland, and also watch over all who bear a courageous witness to freedom and to faith throughout the world. RM John Paul II on Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko: Freedom in Truth (link to the Polish original, on Radio Maria) October 19, 2024 1:28 PM/in Information, Poland Radio Maryja John Paul II, together with his compatriots and the Universal Church, experienced the drama of the kidnapping and death of Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko, who was killed at the hands of the communist security services in 1984. When Poland regained its freedom in 1989, Pope John Paul II decided that Fr. Jerzys testimony was more important in the new era than during communist captivity. He called him the patron of Polands presence in Europe. *** John Paul II and Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko probably never met. When the Pope was in Poland in 1983, the regime refused to grant the chaplain of Solidarity the necessary leave. Fr. Jerzy, like all priests of his generation, was strongly influenced by the Polish Pope. His sermons testify to this. John Paul II knew about the ministry of the chaplain of Warsaw workers. He knew his sermons. He sent him greetings, as well as a rosary. It was with this rosary that the hands of the murdered priest were clasped in the coffin on November 3, 1984. *** A sacrifice that leads to resurrection John Paul II, together with other Poles, participated in the drama of Father Jerzys kidnapping. During the general audience and during the Angelus prayer in mid-October 1984, John Paul asked for prayer for his release, safe and sound, and appealed to the consciences of the kidnappers. When the news came that Father Jerzys lifeless body had been found, the Pope very quickly understood that this martyrdom would have a decisive significance for Polands struggle for independence. The very next day, October 31, 1984, at the general audience, he said: A Christian is called in Jesus Christ to victory. Such victory is inseparable from hardship, from suffering, just as Christs Resurrection is inseparable from the Cross. And he has already won today even if he were lying on the ground. At the next Wednesday audience he added: This death is also a testimony. I pray for Father Jerzy Popiełuszko, I pray even more that good may grow from this death, just as Resurrection from the Cross. Testimony in times of freedom Five years later, Poland was the first country in the communist bloc to regain freedom. In these new conditions John Paul II once again reminded his compatriots of Father Jerzys attitude. Let the testimony of this priest, which does not expire, speak to us, a testimony which is important not only yesterday, but also today. Perhaps even more so today, said the Pope at the general audience on October 31, 1990. From that time on, he referred to the testimony of Father Jerzy, to show Poles how to relate to Europe and the changes taking place there. On 14 February 1991, at an audience for Lech Wałêsa, John Paul emphasized that Poland has never betrayed Europe! It felt responsible for the European community of nations. It expected help from it, but it was also able to die for it. In this context, the Pope recalled the unjust peace according to the provisions of the Yalta Conference. [That treaty divided Europe into two parts, west and east, by building an Iron Curtain between the two halves of the continent.] He emphasized that the nation had never reconciled itself to it [to being placed behind the Iron Curtain] and had not succumbed to the ideology and totalitarianism imposed on it. Poland defended its dignity and rights with great difficulty and at the cost of great sacrifices, said the Pope, emphasizing that the symbol of this was, among others, Father Jerzy. Patron of Polands presence in Europe Once again, John Paul II appealed to the chaplain of Solidarity several months later during his trip to his homeland. At that time, he engaged in open polemics with those who postulated Polands return to Europe. He emphasized that Poles do not have to return to Europe, because they are in it. We do not have to enter it, because we created it and created it with greater difficulty than those who are credited with or who claim the patent for Europeanness, exclusivity. ( ) I wish, as the Bishop of Rome, to protest against such a qualification of Europe, Western Europe. This offends this great world of culture, Christian culture, from which we drew and which we co-created, co-created also at the cost of our suffering. ( ) European culture was created by the martyrs of the first three centuries, it was also created by martyrs to the east of us in recent decades and here in recent decades. This is how Father Jerzy created it. He is the patron of our presence in Europe at the cost of the sacrifice of his life, just like Christ. Just as Christ, just as Christ has the right of citizenship in the world, he has the right of citizenship in Europe, because he gave his life for all of us, he said during his homily in Włocławek on June 7, 1991. So that the conscience does not grow cold Why did John Paul II attach such great importance to the testimony of Fr. Jerzy in the new times, after the fall of Marxist totalitarianism? The Pope himself gave the answer to this, in a way, by quoting, during the already quoted audience in 1990, several statements made years before by the martyr-priest: In order to remain a spiritually free man, one must live in the truth. Living in the truth means bearing witness to the outside world, admitting to it and demanding it in every situation. The truth is unchanging. The truth cannot be destroyed by one decision or another, one law or another (October 31, 1982). Let us put life in the truth first, if we do not want our conscience to grow cold (February 27, 1983). Exceptional interest of the Vatican media It is worth emphasizing the exceptional interest of the Vatican media at that time in the case of the kidnapping and death of Fr. Popiełuszko. Starting on October 22, 1984, the daily newspaper LOsservatore Romano reported daily on the developments on its front page. All of Poland anxious about Father Jerzy Popiełuszko; Moments of horror in Poland after kidnapping of a priest; All of Poland mobilizes in the case of Father Popiełuszko these were the headlines from the first days after the kidnapping. On October 25, the Vatican daily reported, still on the front page, the arrest of the kidnappers, and the next day quoted the words of General Jaruzelski, who condemned the kidnapping. In subsequent editions, LOsservatore Romano quotes another appeal from the Pope and reactions from around the world, including the telling words of the Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger: We live in the time of murderers. Vatican Radio And now, here is a testimony from a Polish journalist, Anna Artymiak, who was a child in Poland when Fr. Popiełuszko died. Anna, who lives in Rome, and who has been a collaborator of Inside the Vatican for more than 15 years, tells us in her own words what it meant to be a child in Poland under Communism, and to hear of the brutal death of Fr. Jerzy. Reflections on the Brutal Murder of a Saintly Priest By Anna Artymiak October 19, 2024, the 40th anniversary of the death of Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko I, along with my twin sister Kasia, were small children when Fr. Popieluszko was killed. I dont remember that day, but I remember my parents and my older brother Jacek talking about Fr. Popieluszko at home. His memory was present in most of the Catholic homes. And in catechism class. It was a time in Poland that, though very tough as now we say at least we knew who was the enemy. We had great figure like Card. Wyszynski, Fr. Popieluszko, John Paul II, whose words were a support and clear guidance in faith. Now, we are missing clear and deep message, based on only the Gospel. For many people from the West which maybe we Poles perceived only in a positive light hoping that there is only truth in the media, that communism would not be not present in the thinking we were only poor. Maybe, we didnt have access to many technical innovations, but there were beautiful, simple Catholic families. People fought to have churches. There places in Poland like Nowa Huta near Cracow, Krasnik and Swidnik near Lublin which were planned by the communists as cities without God. Finally, it was God who won. Even now, many foreigners, some impressed, others with disrespect, tell me they remember people being poor, but the churches were full and beautiful. People were proud to have them. To me, it was our richness to offer to God the best we had. We have a special devotion to the Eucharist in Poland. Thanks to Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, the new Missal wasnt introduced in Poland as a revolution, so we didnt have this division between liberals and progressive as in the West of Europe. This explains why when there is a difficult moment, we used to attend Mass. So, did Fr. Popieluszko. He was asked to say the Holy Mass for the intention of our country, of Poland. This made the communists angry, though he never made any comments on the politics. The words from the Gospel overcome evil with good became Fr. Popielsuszkos motto and drove the communists crazy. It was Moscow which asked the Polish communist goverment to kill Fr. Jerzy. With disrespect they used to ask: When will this dog finally stop barking? It was an organized plan to kill him. Today, it has been 40 years since it happened. Still, many details about the murder are unknown. People who saw his body said they had never seen such a maltreated and tormented human body. His suffering is often compared to St. Fr. Andrzej Bobola, a Polish Jesuit father killed for the unity of the Church. Probably, Fr. Popieluszko was killed later, not precisely on October 19th. The trial was never done well. Behind the murder stood General Czeslaw Kiszczak. One of the most dark figures of the communism time in Poland. When I was at school, I read many articles, books on Fr. Popieluszko. I remember my surprise to learn that the name he received on baptism was Alfons. His mother Marianna chose it after St. Alfons Maria Liguori. She dedicated him to God. The Blessed Mother blessed this decision. He changed his name to Jerzy before his priestly ordination, because of the negative connotations of name Alfons in Warsaw. His mother was a very important figure in his life. Marianna educated her children in simple and deep faith, in love for Jesus Christ. Although she wanted Alfons to become a priest, she was surprised by his decision. She see in his decision Gods will. His teachers didnt like that he spent much time in the Church, that he was praying the rosary. When they asked his mother to come, she simply explained: There is freedom of belief. Everybody lives as he/she wants. Jerzy served in the Archdiocese of Warsaw, although he was from the south of Poland, because he was attracted by the figure of Cardinal Wyszynski. The Primate of the New Millenium was an example of security in faith for the whole family. He wanted to grow as a priest next to him, next to his teaching, his example. After the matura (high school diploma), Fr. Jerzy went on his own, without his parents knowledge, to Warsaw to apply for the seminary. He took the train for the first time in his life. During his formation, Popieluszko was forced to do military service. He was asked to stand on the snow without shoes, because he didnt want to give away his rosary. His parents learned how badly he was treated from his colleagues only when he was killed. Fr. Jerzy had some American connections. He had a dog whom he called Tajny inspired by tiny. Though his friends started to call the dog tajniak which means undercover agent in Polish. Today, it sounds funny, but it must have been a bit dangerous when Fr. Jerzy was calling loudly Tajniak while having his house under surveillance by the secret service agents. Part of his extended family moved to the USA after the murder of Popieluszko, because they were afraid for their lives. Once, some of them came to Rome with the siblings of Fr. Jerzy. I remember one saying that for them Fr. Jerzy was an uncle of candy bars, especially those foreign which were difficult to buy, and he was receiving them from some people. After his death, there was founded in his last parish of St. Stanislaus Kosta in Warsaw a special guard to protect his tomb. Today, the oldest members who remember his Masses travel around Poland to give witness to his life and service. *** And here is a link to a brief discussion on Instagram on a different topic between myself and Anna Artymiak (link) And finally, a brief biography of Fr. Jerzy, from the Polish website dedicated to his memory: FR. JERZY POPIEŁUSZKO Witnesses to the Christian faith who lived in the last century in both the East and the West were able to realize the Gospel in their lives despite hostility and persecution, often to the point of shedding blood. Witnesses, especially those who suffered martyrdom, are a great, eloquent sign that we are to admire and imitate. They confirm the vitality of the Church; they appear as a light for the Church and for humanity, because they allowed the light of Christ to shine in the darkness John Paul II, Ecclesia in Europa, 13 Historical outline Sursa: www.InsideTheVatican.com Contor Accesări: 148, Ultimul acces: 2026-08-28 01:40:50
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