Remembering the Messenger of Truth 40 Years Later: Father Jerzy Popiełuszko

 "A man who tells the Truth is a free man despite external slavery, imprisonment or custody." -  Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko, Sermon,  October 31, 1982  

 

Father Jerzy Popiełuszko ( September 14, 1947 - October 19, 1984)

At the Mass celebrated on the 40th anniversary of the death of Solidarity's chaplain in the Church of St. Stanisław Kostka, President Andrzej Duda, representatives of the PiS leadership (Jarosław Kaczyński and Przemysław Czarnek), family of the priest Jerzy Popielłuszki, representatives of Solidarity, clergy of the Archdiocese of Warsaw, and numerous faithful gathered.

Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz's homily underscored that Cardinal Jerzy Popiełuszko was a "witness to the gospel of love and a defender of human dignity who taught to us to overcome evil with good."

Forty years ago today on October 19, 1984 the communist regime in Poland murdered a saint in the expectation that they could hang on to power. They had murdered Father Jerzy Popiełuszko for being the chaplain to the fledgling Solidarity Movement.

The Institute of National Remembrance tweeted what is known about the extrajudicial killing of Father Jerzy Popiełuszko by agents of the communist dictatorship in Poland.

"After a Holy Mass in the Parish of the Holy Polish Martyr Brothers in Bydgoszcz, on their way to Warsaw, Father Jerzy Popiełuszko and Waldemar Chrostowski, the driver of Volkswagen Golf, were pulled over and kidnapped in Górsk by three security service officers (Grzegorz Piotrowski, Leszek Pękala and Waldemar Chmielewski) who were dressed as policemen. The agents operated under Independent Group "D" (disintegration) from the 4th Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. At that point the trail ends. Nobody knows what really happened to Father Popiełuszko."

They had thought killing a symbol of freedom and terrorizing the Polish people would silence the opposition. They counted wrong. Less than five years later on June 4, 1989 Poland would be the first country in Eastern Europe to hold free elections and sweep the communists from power nonviolently. 

This was due in no small part to the teachings of the martyred priest Jerzy Popieluszko who called for an authentic reconciliation:

"Our Fatherland and respect of human dignity must be the common objective for reconciliation. You must unite in reconciliation in the spirit of love, but also in the spirit of justice. As the Holy Father said five years ago, no love exists without justice. Love is greater than justice and at the same time finds reassurance in justice."

Father Popiełuszko has been recognized as a martyr by the Catholic Church, and was beatified on Sunday, June 6, 2010 in Warsaw with more than 150,000 in attendance.

 Beatification is an act of the Pope who declares that a deceased person lived a holy life and is worthy of public veneration. It is a first step toward canonization. The video above shows Poles marching with relics of the now beatified priest on their way to the main ceremony.

The following fragments, which may provide a better insight into the thinking of this moral exemplar,were taken in 2010 from a page dedicated to him by two Polish organizations - The Institute of National Remembrance and The National Centre for Culture, but is no longer up and running.

A fragment from the Sermon of 28 February 1982

"The church always stands on the side of truth. The church always stands on the side of people who are victimized. Today the church stands on the side of those who have lost their freedom, whose conscience is being broken. Today the church stands on the side of the Solidarity, on the side of the working people, who are often placed in one line along with common criminals.

Dedication to freedom is tightly knit with human nature and with mature national awareness. This dedication is intertwined with the law and duty. It is intertwined with the law, and thus every man and every nation must experience the suppression of freedom as painful and unjust."

A fragment from the Sermon of 27 March 1983

 
"Our Fatherland and respect of human dignity must be the common objective for reconciliation. You must unite in reconciliation in the spirit of love, but also in the spirit of justice. As the Holy Father said five years ago, no love exists without justice. Love is greater than justice and at the same time finds reassurance in justice.

And for you, brothers, who carry in your hearts paid-for hatred, let it be a time of reflection that violence is not victorious, though it may triumph for a while. We have a proof of that standing underneath the Cross. There too was violence and hatred for truth. But the violence and hatred were defeated by the active love of Christ."

A fragment from the Sermon of 4 December 1983

"Work, especially hard work, shapes love and social justice. It happens only when work is ruled by the proper moral order. If there is no moral order at work, in place of justice creeps hurt, and in place of love - hate. That is why those who in recent decades have destroyed and are still destroying the moral order do such harm to the working people and the whole society. 

When they want to replace Christian morality, rooted in a thousand years of tradition, against the will of all with so-called secular morality, in a Christian country there will always be a purulent wound. They do harm when they exclude God from the workplace, and believers are discriminated and usually can not occupy high positions. The workers of August 1980 called more for moral order than for higher wages. 

The world opinion was struck by the fact that the events of August were free of aggression, violence, that nobody was injured or died, that they bore the clear stamp of religion. The Holy Father, John Paul II, spoke of this in Katowice."

A fragment from the Sermon of 24 June 1984

"A condition for peace of conscience, peace in the family, peace in the Homeland and the world is justice based on love.(…)

(…) Justice dictates each to be granted the rights they are due. And so the right to work in accordance with your profession and not be thrown out of work for your beliefs. The Primate of Poland spoke of this on 2 January 1982 in the following words: 'There is one matter which lies heavy on the heart of the Church. It is the matter of the dismissals of those who do not want to resign from the Solidarity trade union. And we stand against this injustice which is an abuse of human rights'...”. 

Let us celebrate and remember how Father Jerzy Popiełuszko and the message he shared with us.

He was a messenger of truth.

Jerzy Popiełuszko: Catholic Martyr & Polish Hero Beatified

"Overcome evil with good" -Father Jerzy Popieluszko


Jerzy Popiełuszko was born on September 14, 1947 and he was murdered by agents of the Polish internal intelligence agency, (Security Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs)on October 19, 1984. He was a Roman Catholic priest from Poland, associated with the Solidarity union. He has been recognized as a martyr by the Catholic Church, and was beatified on Sunday, June 6, 2010 in Warsaw with more than 150,000 in attendance.



Beatification is an act of the Pope who declares that a deceased person lived a holy life and is worthy of public veneration. It is a first step toward canonization. The video above shows Poles marching with relics of the now beatified priest on their way to the main ceremony.



In a message to the beatification Mass from Nicosia, Cyprus, Pope Benedict said the priest's "sacrificial service and martyrdom" was a "special mark of the victory of good over evil" and offered an example to Catholic clergy and laity everywhere. The video below is of the main service. Popieluszko's mother, Marianna Popieluszko, who recently turned 100 attended the ceremonies and spoke to reporters beforehand: "I cried when my son left this earth, and now it is with joy that I greet his beatification." When asked what the secret is to raising a son like Father Popieluszko, she replied: "Love people, Love God, with all your heart."



Two movies have been made about the life and death of Father Jerzy Popiełuszko, one a Hollywood production in 1988 starring Ed Harris and a Polish Production in 2009 that although taking some dramatic license outline the courageous life he led.



This blog entry focusing on some of his core ideas may provide a better insight into the thinking of this moral exemplar. The following fragments are taken from a page dedicated to him by two Polish organizations - The Institute of National Remembrance and The National Centre for Culture.

A fragment from the Sermon of 28 February 1982
The church always stands on the side of truth. The church always stands on the side of people who are victimized. Today the church stands on the side of those who have lost their freedom, whose conscience is being broken. Today the church stands on the side of the Solidarity, on the side of the working people, who are often placed in one line along with common criminals.
Dedication to freedom is tightly knit with human nature and with mature national awareness. This dedication is intertwined with the law and duty. It is intertwined with the law, and thus every man and every nation must experience the suppression of freedom as painful and unjust.

A fragment from the Sermon of 27 March 1983
Our Fatherland and respect of human dignity must be the common objective for reconciliation. You must unite in reconciliation in the spirit of love, but also in the spirit of justice. As the Holy Father said five years ago, no love exists without justice. Love is greater than justice and at the same time finds reassurance in justice.

And for you, brothers, who carry in your hearts paid-for hatred, let it be a time of reflection that violence is not victorious, though it may triumph for a while. We have a proof of that standing underneath the Cross. There too was violence and hatred for truth. But the violence and hatred were defeated by the active love of Christ.


A fragment from the Sermon of 4 December 1983
Work, especially hard work, shapes love and social justice. It happens only when work is ruled by the proper moral order. If there is no moral order at work, in place of justice creeps hurt, and in place of love - hate. That is why those who in recent decades have destroyed and are still destroying the moral order do such harm to the working people and the whole society. When they want to replace Christian morality, rooted in a thousand years of tradition, against the will of all with so-called secular morality, in a Christian country there will always be a purulent wound. They do harm when they exclude God from the workplace, and believers are discriminated and usually can not occupy high positions. The workers of August 1980 called more for moral order than for higher wages. The world opinion was struck by the fact that the events of August were free of aggression, violence, that nobody was injured or died, that they bore the clear stamp of religion. The Holy Father, John Paul II, spoke of this in Katowice.

A fragment from the Sermon of 24 June 1984
A condition for peace of conscience, peace in the family, peace in the Homeland and the world is justice based on love.(…)

(…) Justice dictates each to be granted the rights they are due. And so the right to work in accordance with your profession and not be thrown out of work for your beliefs. The Primate of Poland spoke of this on 2 January 1982 in the following words: “There is one matter which lies heavy on the heart of the Church. It is the matter of the dismissals of those who do not want to resign from the “Solidarity” trade union. And we stand against this injustice which is an abuse of human rights...”.

Heroes and Exemplars of 1989: Vaclav Havel and the Power of the Powerless

Hero:
1. a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.
2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child.


Vaclav Havel, Czech Republic
A brief biography of Mr. Havel would be summed up as playwrite, essayist, former dissident, and politician, but there is much more to this individual that bears a closer look. His essays on The Power of the Powerless and Politics and Conscience should be required reading in any civics course and should be read and reread by politicians who aspire to become statesmen. Visit his official website where some of his essays from both his time as a dissident and later as president are available online.

The purpose of this brief profile is to encourage the reader to search further and read Havel's collection of essays and watch the documentaries on the struggle of the Czech people to obtain and maintain their freedom, and in the process learn how to make the world a better place.

Vaclav Havel is hosting a concert "It is coming" on Saturday, November 14, 2009 at the Prague Crossroads to celebrate the nonviolent end of communism in Czechoslovakia on November 17, 1989 that became known as the Velvet Revolution.

Below a selection of images, quotes, phrases, and trailers of documentaries with the aim of better capturing this great person:


The only lost cause

The only lost cause is one we give up on before we enter the struggle. Quoted in Amnesty International's essay "From Prisoner to President – A Tribute"

The significance of a purely moral act

Even a purely moral act that has no hope of any immediate and visible political effect can gradually and indirectly, over time, gain in political significance -Letter to the overthrown Czechoslovak Communist Party chairman Alexander Dubček (August 1969)

How you become a dissident

You do not become a "dissident" just because you decide one day to take up this most unusual career. You are thrown into it by your personal sense of responsibility, combined with a complex set of external circumstances. The Power of the Powerless (1978)

The Pen and the Sword

I really do inhabit a system in which words are capable of shaking the entire structure of government, where words can prove mightier than ten military divisions. Speech of October 1989, accepting a peace prize

On Truth and Love

“The truth and love will always beat the lie and hatred.”

Vaclav Havel Fall 1989 Prague

On Politicians

I have noticed that a politician – and this is a general phenomenon – always has a special halo around him, due to the simple fact that he holds a particular office. It has nothing to do with whether he is a good politician or a complete fool: the position itself lends that person a special aura. Interview, Atlantic Monthly November 11, 2009

Documentary: Citizen Havel

"Citizen Vaclav Havel Goes on Vacation" recreates a trip around Czechsolovakia that its future president Vaclav Havel took in 1985 when he was still the country's most prominent dissident. In the course of one week, he was twice thrown into jail for 48 hours of preventive detention and followed by over 300 plainclothed policemen, who would helpfully point out the right way whenever he got lost.

Two positive aspects of being a Dissident

..When someone makes the effort to become a dissident and joins the opposition and runs the risk of being persecuted, that fateful step has two positive aspects to it. The first is that they feel good about being in harmony with their conscience and their beliefs. When you lie a little, or make compromises you shouldn’t, you can have the ugly feeling of being soiled. If you decide to do something good, regardless of whether that advances your cause or not, you at least have the positive feeling of being on the side of truth. And the second aspect – and the experience of my country and of the other post-communist countries bears this out—is that these seemingly pointless, quixotic efforts may rather quickly turn into something important, and may eventually bear fruit. The just may be successful. Interview, Atlantic Monthly November 11, 2009

The Power of the Powerless Documentary (2009)

Narrated by Jeremy Irons, The Power of the Powerless examines the struggle for freedom during the communist era in Czechoslovakia. Featuring Vaclav Havel, who ascended to power during the bloodless revolution of 1989, The Power of the Powerless investigates haunting questions about the communist past, which still linger today.