The retiring Archbishop of Gdansk has urged local Catholics to show loyalty to his successor, after the controversial nomination was criticised by the Polish media and prominent Church members.“We face an important moment in the history of the Church in Gdansk,” Archbishop Tadeusz Goclowski said in a pastoral letter.
“This Church, which experiences events in our homeland with great commitment, wishes to remain a faithful guardian of fundamental ethical values in our society’s life. Let us give a heartfelt welcome to our new metropolitan.”
The 76-year-old archbishop issued the appeal after last week’s appointment of Archbishop Slawoj Leszek Glodz, bishop of Warsaw-Praga, to take over from him after 25 years in the post. He said he was confident Archbishop Glodz would meet the needs of the northern maritime archdiocese, which has 750 priests in 200 parishes, adding that he counted on Church members to ensure his April 26 installation Mass in Gdansk’s Oliwa cathedral became an occasion for “unity and true witness”.
Supporters of Archbishop Glodz defended his promotion, citing his previous experience as head of Poland’s Catholic military bishopric, where he held the rank of general, as well his charity and media work, contacts with politicians and earlier work in the Vatican.
However, the nomination was criticised as a “misfortune and punishment” by former president Lech Walesa, who led the Solidarity union from Gdansk in the 1980s and 1990s, and questioned by leaders of Poland’s governing Civic Platform party, which is also based in the city.
Meanwhile, several senior Catholics claimed the new archbishop’s previous support for Poland’s nationalistic Catholic broadcaster, Radio Maryja, and opposition to the European Union would clash with the Gdansk archdiocese’s liberal traditions.
Media coverage of the appointment was criticised by Poland’s Bishops’ Conference presidium, which accused editors of “exerting pressure” on the Church and “undermining the competence of the Holy See”.
“Such activity damages Church and society, especially when the language of hatred, division and antagonism is used,” said the statement, which was signed by Archbishops Jozef Micahlik of Przemysl and Stanislaw Gadecki of Poznan.
“We urge everyone to desist from such practices, and we ask Church people to accept the Holy Father’s decisions in a spirit of faith and understanding, as we did during John Paul II’s pontificate.”
Speaking to journalists, Archbishop Goclowski said he had written to Rome before Mgr Glodz’s appointment to inform the Vatican about “the climate in the diocese”, but added that he and the new archbishop shared “the same motives of concern for the local Church”.
However, the mayor of Gdansk, Pawel Adamowicz, told Poland’s Catholic information agency (KAI) Archbishop Glodz would face an “uneasy task”, adding that local Catholics would expect him to show
“respect for the independent traditions of Gdansk”, as well as upholding the “pastoral style” of Archbishop Goclowski, who played a key role in the peaceful ending of communist rule and the later establishment of pluralism and democracy in Poland.
In a farewell message to Catholics in Warsaw-Praga, Archbishop Glodz said he had accepted his appointment by the Pope “with penitence and filial subservience”.
“I did not seek or solicit this nomination,” Archbishop Glodz said. “But I said yes to it, since the Holy Father cannot be refused, and since this nomination – whatever it may mean for my life plan – shows the Church’s catholicity and the universal dimension of a bishop’s service.”
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