Polish priest exposes betrayal by his peers
Eighteen months ago, the Rev. Tadeusz Isakowicz-Zaleski heard a startling report on the radio.
Communist-era files thought to have been destroyed years ago had in fact been preserved, the report said. They chronicled obsessive efforts by the SB, the regime's despised security police, to intimidate or compromise Roman Catholic clergy who were lending moral support to the Solidarity trade union movement.
One of the thickest files, according to the radio report, was Zaleski's.
Four days later, the priest went to the Institute of National Remembrance and asked to see his file. It was 500 pages long and included a videotape of a 1985 torture session during which a gang of SB goons used cigarettes to tattoo a Solidarity "V" on Zaleski's chest. The SB apparently used the tape as a training tool.
Despite warnings from the church to let the matter rest, Zaleski continued to dig into the files. The result is a book published Feb. 26 that identifies 39 clergymen in the Krakow archdiocese, including five bishops, who were SB informants or collaborators.
The anticipated embarrassment of these revelations, along with last month's stunning resignation of Warsaw's newly appointed archbishop after he was exposed as an SB collaborator, have plunged the Polish church into crisis and threatens to tarnish its once-pristine moral authority.
For Zaleski, the most painful part was not the video of his assault but discovering the identity of people who provided the SB with information about him.
"Two priests and many ordinary people. I was absolutely and completely surprised. I had no suspicion that there would be anything like this," said the 50-year-old priest.
Explaining his controversial undertaking in an interview, the strain of the past few months showed in Zaleski's eyes. A camera crew from Polish television was waiting in the next room. A sense of unfolding drama was palpable.
Zaleski, speaking in a soft, measured voice, explained how he sought the advice of his superiors after discovering the betrayal by fellow priests.
"They told me that my files were not of interest to anyone. They said I should burn them," he said.
Zaleski thought this would be a mistake. He wrote to Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, the longtime private secretary to Pope John Paul II who had recently become archbishop of Krakow, asking him what to do. His first letter was ignored. He wrote again. This time Dziwisz advised the priest that he should trust his worries to the Virgin Mary.
But pressure was building. A new conservative government with close ties to the church was about to take power after campaigning on a promise to open the SB files and punish the former agents and their collaborators.
The Catholic hierarchy in Poland was not particularly concerned by that development. The church rightly views itself as one of the heroes in the struggle against communism. Church leaders knew that a few priests probably served as informants or collaborators, but they also believed -- mistakenly, it would turn out -- that the SB had burned the files relating to the church.
At a meeting of former Solidarity activists, Zaleski suggested that the church undertake a thorough investigation of its activities during the communist era and publish the findings.
"The devil is to hide the truth. This was the mistake of the church in the pedophilia scandal in Ireland and the United States," he said. The church responded to Zaleski's suggestion with fury, publishing an open letter criticizing the priest.
At that point Zaleski decided to pursue the investigation on his own and to publish his findings.
Of the 39 clerics contacted by Zaleski, four admitted their cooperation with the SB; the rest either denied it or made no reply. One of the five bishops he contacted provided documentation disputing the evidence against him, while the other three have remained silent. The fifth bishop is dead.
The Rev. Robert Necek, a spokesman for the Krakow archdiocese, declined to comment on the matter, adding that he had "no opinion" on a book he had not seen.
Zaleski's findings in the Krakow archdiocese are consistent with the estimates of historians who say that 10 to 15 percent of the church's priests in Poland served as informants.
"It's not that much when you consider that the entire system was organized against the church," Zaleski said. "Every priest was targeted by the SB. Every priest had a file. The fact that 85 percent refused to be compromised -- that should be called a success." Link
Communist-era files thought to have been destroyed years ago had in fact been preserved, the report said. They chronicled obsessive efforts by the SB, the regime's despised security police, to intimidate or compromise Roman Catholic clergy who were lending moral support to the Solidarity trade union movement.
One of the thickest files, according to the radio report, was Zaleski's.
Four days later, the priest went to the Institute of National Remembrance and asked to see his file. It was 500 pages long and included a videotape of a 1985 torture session during which a gang of SB goons used cigarettes to tattoo a Solidarity "V" on Zaleski's chest. The SB apparently used the tape as a training tool.
Despite warnings from the church to let the matter rest, Zaleski continued to dig into the files. The result is a book published Feb. 26 that identifies 39 clergymen in the Krakow archdiocese, including five bishops, who were SB informants or collaborators.
The anticipated embarrassment of these revelations, along with last month's stunning resignation of Warsaw's newly appointed archbishop after he was exposed as an SB collaborator, have plunged the Polish church into crisis and threatens to tarnish its once-pristine moral authority.
For Zaleski, the most painful part was not the video of his assault but discovering the identity of people who provided the SB with information about him.
"Two priests and many ordinary people. I was absolutely and completely surprised. I had no suspicion that there would be anything like this," said the 50-year-old priest.
Explaining his controversial undertaking in an interview, the strain of the past few months showed in Zaleski's eyes. A camera crew from Polish television was waiting in the next room. A sense of unfolding drama was palpable.
Zaleski, speaking in a soft, measured voice, explained how he sought the advice of his superiors after discovering the betrayal by fellow priests.
"They told me that my files were not of interest to anyone. They said I should burn them," he said.
Zaleski thought this would be a mistake. He wrote to Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, the longtime private secretary to Pope John Paul II who had recently become archbishop of Krakow, asking him what to do. His first letter was ignored. He wrote again. This time Dziwisz advised the priest that he should trust his worries to the Virgin Mary.
But pressure was building. A new conservative government with close ties to the church was about to take power after campaigning on a promise to open the SB files and punish the former agents and their collaborators.
The Catholic hierarchy in Poland was not particularly concerned by that development. The church rightly views itself as one of the heroes in the struggle against communism. Church leaders knew that a few priests probably served as informants or collaborators, but they also believed -- mistakenly, it would turn out -- that the SB had burned the files relating to the church.
At a meeting of former Solidarity activists, Zaleski suggested that the church undertake a thorough investigation of its activities during the communist era and publish the findings.
"The devil is to hide the truth. This was the mistake of the church in the pedophilia scandal in Ireland and the United States," he said. The church responded to Zaleski's suggestion with fury, publishing an open letter criticizing the priest.
At that point Zaleski decided to pursue the investigation on his own and to publish his findings.
Of the 39 clerics contacted by Zaleski, four admitted their cooperation with the SB; the rest either denied it or made no reply. One of the five bishops he contacted provided documentation disputing the evidence against him, while the other three have remained silent. The fifth bishop is dead.
The Rev. Robert Necek, a spokesman for the Krakow archdiocese, declined to comment on the matter, adding that he had "no opinion" on a book he had not seen.
Zaleski's findings in the Krakow archdiocese are consistent with the estimates of historians who say that 10 to 15 percent of the church's priests in Poland served as informants.
"It's not that much when you consider that the entire system was organized against the church," Zaleski said. "Every priest was targeted by the SB. Every priest had a file. The fact that 85 percent refused to be compromised -- that should be called a success." Link
posted by BEING HAD at 3:24 AM
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