Elderly Poles who remember the key role played by the late Pope John
Paul II in overthrowing communism no doubt view his beatification as an
emotional event.
But, for the country's increasingly secular younger generation, last Sunday's ceremony in Rome was a distant affair.
During
his papacy, Wadowiceborn Karol Wojtyla gave hope to millions during
Poland's dark days under communism, as both a spiritual leader and a
steadfast supporter of democracy.
Elderly citizens will likely
remember his historic nine-day pilgrimage to Poland in 1979, in which he
spoke to millions at mass gatherings on the importance of freedom and
expressed his backing for Lech Walesa's Solidarity labour union.
"During
his pilgrimages to his homeland, John Paul II united Poles,'' Bishop
Stanislaw Budzik told the Polish Press Agency. "All disagreements
disappeared.''
Piotr Duda, the present leader of Solidarity, said
his working class family has always carefully listened to the pope's
teachings, and that he will always remember the pontiff's words of
praise for labour unions.
But Poland's younger generation, which
did not live through communism and is becoming less religious, likely
viewed the ceremony through a less emotional lens.
"The pope is a
human, flesh and blood person. I, as a young person, don't know why
people will now pray to him,'' said Agnieszka Golabek, a 34-year-old
woman who lives in Warsaw and is not a practising Catholic.
"From
my point of view, maybe we don't have the right to call somebody holy.
We should view good people as an example, but we shouldn't put them on a
pedestal,'' said Golabek of the fact that, after the beatification,
Catholics are able to pray for John Paul to intercede on their behalf.
While
young Poles study Wojtyla at school and regard him as a generally good
person, people like 34-year-old Dariusz Mazurkiewicz believe young
people were "only mildly interested'' in the beatification ceremony,
either because they cannot relate with the late pontiff or because they
are "not looking for an authority in him.''
Such views are not isolated.
In
a 2009 survey, some 48 per cent of respondents said Poles had become
less religious over the past two decades.
The local church is also
finding it increasingly hard to enrol young priests.
The number of
candidates for seminaries has fallen from 1,145 in 2005 to 675 in 2010.
Bishop
Budzik, however, is hopeful that John Paul's teachings will continue to
resonate with the young generation and that the beatification will
inspire more Poles towards a deeper faith.
"It seems to me that
our increasingly complicated reality and the uncertainty of the future
... will lead to a deeper reflection,'' he said. "And that for many -as
well as for the young -the teachings of John Paul II will become a sign
and road marker.''
Others note that the country's march towards
modernism has made young people more secular and critical of the
church's role in politics.
While up to 95 per cent of Poles identify
themselves as Roman Catholic, attendance at Mass has been steadily
declining. These days, about half of Poles say they regularly attend
services.
"They look at the pope with more distance and less
emotion and less deep religious conviction than elderly people,'' said
Zdzislaw Slowik, deputy head of the Secular Culture Society, a national
council that studies the role of the church and secularism.