Poland celebrates 100th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s birth

Poland on Monday celebrated the centenary of the birth of Karol Wojtyla, the man who became Pope John Paul II, a saint of the Catholic Church and one of the most influential figures of the second half of the 20th century.

Celebratory events, concerts, Masses and prayers were held throughout the country, where John Paul II is still revered as one of the greatest Poles, as well as abroad.

During his near-record 26 years as pontiff, he was pivotal in the collapse of communism; condemned unfettered capitalism; reached out to younger generations with World Youth Day meetings; and sought reconciliation with Muslims and Jews.

“One hundred years ago the Lord visited his people, he sent a man, he prepared him to be a bishop and to guide the church,” Pope Francis said on Monday morning in a Mass in St Peter’s Basilica.

In a televised evening address to Polish youth, Francis called John Paul II “an extraordinary gift from God to the church and Poland,” whose characteristic trait was his “love and care for the family.”

“His teaching represents a firm point of reference for finding concrete solutions to the difficulties and challenges that families face today,” Francis said.

He was also a “great man of mercy,” Francis said.

The Catholic cult of Divine Mercy was inspired by Faustyna Kowalska, an early-20th-century Polish nun who was particularly dear to John Paul II and was canonized by him in 2000. On Monday, the Vatican declared October 5 a memorial day for Faustyna.

Also on Monday, Pope Francis inaugurated a new cultural institute named after John Paul II at the Dominican University in Rome, where the Polish pope earned a doctorate in philosophy in the late 1940s.

Pope John Paul II was one of the most important figures of the 20th century and a defender of fundamental moral values and Europe’s Christian identity, who bravely implemented the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, Polish President Andrzej Duda wrote in a statement.

“When shaping the future [of Poland, Europe and the world], we will always remember about the greatest from among us – the pope of freedom and solidarity,” Duda wrote on Monday.

Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, in turn, underlined the Polish pope’s impact on shaking off the yoke of communism in Central Europe.

In the afternoon, both the president and the prime minister participated in a Mass celebrated by the archbishop of Krakow in the St John Paul II sanctuary.

The festivities, however, are being held against the backdrop of renewed allegations of sexual abuse among the clergy.

On Saturday, the second part of an influential documentary on paedophilia in Poland’s Catholic Church was released. To date, it has reached over 4.5 million views on YouTube.

The film, “Playing Hide and Seek,” was produced by renowned journalist Tomasz Sekielski and his brother.

It follows the stories of the alleged victims of two paedophile priests and depicts what the authors present as a grossly inadequate response by the Polish ecclesiastical structure to the allegations.

In response, a representative of the Polish Bishops’ Conference said that church procedures had not been observed and called on the Holy See to investigate the negligence.

In 2021, the Sekielski brothers plan to release a documentary on John Paul II in the context of combating paedophilia.

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According to Catholic author Ewa Czaczkowska, allegations that John Paul II did not react adequately to paedophilia scandals within the Church are unjust and do not blemish his reputation in Poland.

“The fight against paedophilia in the church was launched by John Paul II,” she told dpa.

Others are less sure. Iacopo Scaramuzzi, a journalist and author on Vatican affairs, said John Paul II “did not want to see” the tragedy of the sexual abuse of minors.

The idea that the church was engaged in a war of good against evil “probably did not allow the pope to accept as truthful some criticisms that were addressed from outside,” Scaramuzzi said. (dpa)