Polish and German bishops in Wrocław: Reconciliation is not the past, but the future

https://episkopat.pl/doc/238245.Biskupi-polscy-i-niemieccy-we-Wroclawiu-Pojednanie-to-nie

https://episkopat.pl/doc/238426.I-vescovi-polacchi-e-tedeschi-a-Breslavia-la-riconciliazione

“Reconciliation is not the past, but the future. The fact that we are standing here today is the best proof of the relevance and power of the message that came from my predecessor, Cardinal Bolesław Kominek, 60 years ago,” said Archbishop Józef Kupny, Metropolitan of Wrocław and host of the jubilee celebrations.

The hierarch admitted that “what has brought us together here is the still-vibrant idea of reconciliation.” “Based on truth, dialogue and mutual respect. Values so necessary in these troubled times. When a cruel war is raging beyond our eastern border. Also in an extremely dynamic reality, which in Europe is taking on the face of secularisation,” he emphasised.

“The exchange of letters between the bishops had its political conditions and consequences, but let us remember that its source came from the pages of the Gospel. Where it speaks of forgiveness and love,” noted the Metropolitan of Wrocław.

The President of the German Bishops' Conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing, said that “the letter from the Polish bishops, but also the dynamics of relations that have been initiated through mutual actions, can indeed be called prophetic. They testify to the refusal to accept the bad status quo and hostility between nations for an indefinite period of time, and point to new perspectives and horizons,” he said.

“For reconciliation to succeed, however, the prophetic voice must be combined with realism. This is also demonstrated by the example of Cardinal Kominek,” he said. “Cardinal Kominek was predestined for the role of a bridge builder, who also clearly recognised the German heritage in his diocese of Wrocław. In all efforts towards reconciliation, such a protagonist is indispensable,” he emphasised. “Polish-German reconciliation found it in Cardinal Kominek,” he admitted.

After Holy Mass celebrated in Wrocław Archcathedral, the presidents of the Polish and German Bishops' Conferences signed a joint statement entitled “The Courage of Outstretched Hands”, in which we read: “’We forgive and ask for forgiveness.’ This sincere and hopeful request does not belong to the past. It guides us today and must also be our programme for the future”.

Press Office of the Polish Bishops’ Conference