Marc S. Ellenbogen: The Polish Archbishop's dirty little secret
[UPI Columnist Marc S. Ellenbogen is chairman of the Global Panel Foundation and president of the Prague Society. A venture capitalist with seats in Berlin and Prague, he sits on the National Advisory Board of the U.S. Democratic Party. He may be reached at Ellenbogen@globalpanel.org]
The most despicable aspect about the resignation of Poland's Archbishop-designate Stanislaw Wielgus is that he almost got away with it. Not only did he lie, he lied again and again. For 20 years he cooperated with the Sluzba Bezpieczenstwa, Poland's communist secret police.
It has been 17 years since the fall of communism in Central Europe. New economies and democracies have been created. Constitutions have been passed. The rule of law has taken hold. But the system masks many of the old regime who are still in power. Few of the perpetrators have been brought to trial. The favorite mantra of the political classes is to look-the-other-way, fearing they might indict themselves. Meanwhile, common folk must watch and seethe as former communist apparatchiks walk free. Only a few former dissidents pursue their tormentors.
And still, the Vatican often feigns ignorance and indignation.
Archbishop Wielgus's opponents were accused of being vindictive. Pope Benedict refused to withdraw his support of Wielgus until the very last hours when he realized he was in a public relations fiasco. The Vatican had a similarly selective memory in handling Pope Benedict's involvement in the Hitler Youth.
And just weeks ago, Bratislava's Archbishop Sokol praised Slovakia's Nazi puppet-state -- run by the fascist Monsignor Tiso -- as being a place that was "a time of well-being." This is a remarkably callous statement in a country where 20,000 Jewish-Slovaks and Gypsies were sent to the gas chambers of Auschwitz. Again, the Vatican handled its response abysmally.
Cardinal Glemp, Poland's top church leader, called Wielgus "God's servant" and warned of the dangers of passing judgment based on incomplete and flawed documents left behind by the communist authorities. "What kind of judgment was it, based on some documents and shreds of paper photocopied three times over? We do not want such judgments."
Yes, well, except that a church historical commission, several newspapers, former secret police documents and other credible sources had confirmed the archbishop's collaboration. Evidence suggests that 15 percent of the Polish church collaborated with the communist secret services.
This all reminds me of Sergeant Schultz's famous line from the 70s sitcom Hogan's Heroes: "I hear nothing, I see nothing, I know nothing," mocked in a heavily German-accented English. ...
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The most despicable aspect about the resignation of Poland's Archbishop-designate Stanislaw Wielgus is that he almost got away with it. Not only did he lie, he lied again and again. For 20 years he cooperated with the Sluzba Bezpieczenstwa, Poland's communist secret police.
It has been 17 years since the fall of communism in Central Europe. New economies and democracies have been created. Constitutions have been passed. The rule of law has taken hold. But the system masks many of the old regime who are still in power. Few of the perpetrators have been brought to trial. The favorite mantra of the political classes is to look-the-other-way, fearing they might indict themselves. Meanwhile, common folk must watch and seethe as former communist apparatchiks walk free. Only a few former dissidents pursue their tormentors.
And still, the Vatican often feigns ignorance and indignation.
Archbishop Wielgus's opponents were accused of being vindictive. Pope Benedict refused to withdraw his support of Wielgus until the very last hours when he realized he was in a public relations fiasco. The Vatican had a similarly selective memory in handling Pope Benedict's involvement in the Hitler Youth.
And just weeks ago, Bratislava's Archbishop Sokol praised Slovakia's Nazi puppet-state -- run by the fascist Monsignor Tiso -- as being a place that was "a time of well-being." This is a remarkably callous statement in a country where 20,000 Jewish-Slovaks and Gypsies were sent to the gas chambers of Auschwitz. Again, the Vatican handled its response abysmally.
Cardinal Glemp, Poland's top church leader, called Wielgus "God's servant" and warned of the dangers of passing judgment based on incomplete and flawed documents left behind by the communist authorities. "What kind of judgment was it, based on some documents and shreds of paper photocopied three times over? We do not want such judgments."
Yes, well, except that a church historical commission, several newspapers, former secret police documents and other credible sources had confirmed the archbishop's collaboration. Evidence suggests that 15 percent of the Polish church collaborated with the communist secret services.
This all reminds me of Sergeant Schultz's famous line from the 70s sitcom Hogan's Heroes: "I hear nothing, I see nothing, I know nothing," mocked in a heavily German-accented English. ...