The President of the Polish Bishops’ Conference commemorated the victims of communist repression
On the 40th anniversary of the introduction of martial law in Poland, at 7.30 pm, the President of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, lit the "Light of Freedom" in the window of Bishop’s house in Poznań. In this way, he joined the initiative commemorating the symbolic gesture of John Paul II, who expressed his solidarity with his countrymen on 13th December 1981.
40 years ago, on 13th December 1981, martial law was introduced in Poland. On that day, John Paul II and the US President Ronald Reagan, expressed their opposition to the policy of the communist authorities in Poland, by lighting ‘candles of freedom’. In reference to these historic gestures, a few years ago, the Institute of National Remembrance initiated the campaign "For the victims of martial law. Light the Light of Freedom. This year, as in the previous years, the president of the Bishop’s Conference joined in.
In connection with the anniversary of the introduction of martial law, Archbishop Gądecki also presided over Holy Mass in the Dominican Church in Poznań. - Martial law is a great deal of lawlessness and harm - he said in the homily. He also emphasized that forgiveness does not imply forgetting. "Forgiveness is what allows us to seek justice without falling into the vicious cycle of revenge or the injustice of oblivion," he emphasized.
In line with the IPN social initiative "To remember victims of martial law. Light the Light of Freedom ”, other bishops joined in alongside the President of the Polish Bishop’s Conference. The "Light of Freedom" was lit by, among others The Polish Primate, Archbishop Wojciech Polak. "Let the true light of freedom never go out in us" - we read in the post on Twitter of the Archdiocese of Gniezno.
Translation: A.Z. Warchoł / Office for Foreign Communication of the Polish Bishops’ Conference
