Polish nun, cardinal who defied communism are beatified
Source: Associated Press
Polish nun, cardinal who defied communism are beatified
By VANESSA GERA
September 12, 2021
WARSAW, Poland (AP) Polands top political leaders on Sunday attended the beatification of two revered figures of the Catholic church a cardinal who led the Polish churchs resistance to communism and a blind nun who devoted her life to helping others who couldnt see.
The beatification of Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski and Mother Elzbieta Roza Czacka takes place at a time of declining church attendance and as some Poles have left the church over sex abuse scandals and the churchs coziness with the current right-wing government.
In a time of growing secularization and societal divisions, the celebration was a reminder of the moral authority and the unifying power the church once held over Poland.
The Mass was led by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, the head of the Vaticans Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
It took place in the Temple of Divine Providence in Warsaw, attended by President Andrzej Duda, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski and many faithful.
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FILE - In this Oct. 16, 1978 file photo, Karol Cardinal Wojtyla, right, is pictured together with Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski, left, when both head for the cardinals congregation meeting in Vatican City. Cardinal Wojtyla has been elected as successor for late Pope John Paul I by the conclavists and will head the catholic church by the name of Pope John Paul II as the first non-Italian Pope in 450 years. Poland's top political leaders gathered in a Warsaw church Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021 for the beatification of two revered figures of the Catholic church a cardinal who led the Polish church's resistance to communism and a blind nun who devoted her life to helping others who couldn't see. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 22, 1978 file photo, Pope John Paul II kisses the hand of Polish Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski in Vatican City, when the successor of late Pope John Paul I was officially installed as the new Pontiff, and cardinals paid obedience to the Pope. Poland's top political leaders gathered in a Warsaw church Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021 for the beatification of two revered figures of the Catholic church a cardinal who led the Polish church's resistance to communism and a blind nun who devoted her life to helping others who couldn't see. (AP Photo, File)