As President Bronislaw Komorowski wrapped up his three-day visit to
Italy and Vatican on Sunday, attending the canonisation ceremony of a
Polish monk, a poll commissioned by Polish Radio finds a majority of
Poles consider the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI inferior to that of
JP II.
Fifty five percent of respondents told the Homo Homini
pollsters that the current pope is not living up to the standards set
by the Polish Pope. Forty one percent thought the two popes were about
equal but only four percent said Pope Benedict was doing a better job as
head of the Roman Catholic Church.
Rzeczpospolita journalist Ewa
Czaczkowska thinks that the, somewhat unsurprising, results of the poll
reflect an emotional attachment to JP II plus the negative publicity
surrounding the paedophile priest scandals.
“Fifty five percent
do not feel so close to the Pope because he is not Polish. He does not
share a common history and culture; and secondly, this is a really
difficult pontificate with difficult issues to deal with,” she told
Polish Radio.
New saints
Meanwhile,
on Sunday, President Komorowski took part in a Mass at the Vatican
during which Pope Benedict canonised Stanislaw Kazimierczyk, a Polish
monk living in Krakow in the 15th century, who is revered for saving the
eyesight of Polish aristocrat, Count Piotr Komorowski. The canonization
process was set in motion by John Paul II.
Benedict XVI also declared saint a monk from Canada and nuns from Italy and Spain.
Australia
also received its first ever saint. Nineteenth century nun Mary
MacKillop founded the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the
Sacred Heart, an order which once exposed a paedophile priest. Mary
MacKillop was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church as a result,
only to be reinstated some years later.
On Saturday President
Komorowski and First Lady Anna had an audience with Pope Benedict and
attended a Mass to celebrate the 32nd anniversary of the beginning of
John Paul II’s pontificate.
On Friday the Polish head of state met with his Italian counterpart, Giorgio Napolitano.
SIC: TNPL/EU