Pope John Paul II on Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko: Freedom in truth

By Krzysztof Bronk

Most likely, Pope John Paul II and Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko never met face to face. In 1983, the Pope was visiting his native Poland and the communist regime refused to issue a special permit to the chaplain of Solidarity.

Like other priests of his generation, Fr. Jerzy was profoundly influenced by the Polish Pope.

Pope John Paul II knew about the priest’s mission as the chaplain of workers in Warsaw and was familiar with his preaching. The Pope sent him greetings and a rosary. On November 3, 1984, this was the rosary that was wrapped around the priest’s hands as he lay in his coffin.

The sacrifice which leads to resurrection 

When Fr. Jerzy was abducted on October 19, 1984, Pope John Paul II asked for prayers and appealed to the priest’s abductors during his General Audience and Angelus prayer.

When Fr. Jerzy’s body was discovered eleven days later, the Pope quickly recognized that this martyrdom would play a decisive role in Poland’s struggle for independence. 

During his General Audience on October 31, 1984, Pope John Paul II stated: “Christians are called to be victorious in Jesus Christ. Victory in Jesus Christ is inseparable from toil and even from suffering, like the Resurrection of Christ is inseparable from the Cross. He has already won today, even if he lies trampled on the ground.”

During the General Audience the following Wednesday, the Pope added: “This death is also a witness. I pray for Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko and pray even more that this death bear the fruit of goodness, just like the Cross bore the fruit of Resurrection.”

Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko was beatified in 2010

A witness at the time of freedom

Five years later, Poland was the first country in the communist block to regain its freedom. Under these new circumstances, Pope John Paul II once again reminded his countrymen of Fr. Jerzy's steadfast example, saying: “May the witness of this priest, which is timeless and which is valid not only yesterday but also today, be a call to all of us. Perhaps even more so today.”

Throughout his papacy, Pope John Paul II continued to reference Fr. Jerzy's witness as an example of how the Polish people should approach the changes taking place on the European continent.

On February 14, 1991, during an audience for Lech Wałęsa—the president of Poland at the time—the Pope stressed that “Poland has never betrayed Europe! Poland felt responsible for the European community of nations. Poland expected help from it but also knew how to die for it.”

In this context, Pope John Paul II recalled the unjust peace adopted during the Yalta Conference, which reorganized Europe following World War II.

The Pope indicated the Polish nation had never adjusted to it nor yielded to the ideology and totalitarianism imposed on it: “The Polish nation stood up for its dignity and rights with considerable effort, at the price of great sacrifice.” The Pope, moreover, pointed to Fr. Jerzy as one of the symbols of this struggle.

Patron of Poland’s presence in Europe

Pope John Paul II evoked the member of the chaplain of Solidarity again a few months later, during a trip to Poland. At the time, he engaged in an open debate with those who advocated  for Poland's return to Europe, saying there was no need for a return because they never left.

“We do not need to join Europe as we created it and did so with greater difficulty than those who are credited with or who themselves claim to hold an exclusive patent on being European. (...) As Bishop of Rome, I wish to object to this qualification of Europe, of Western Europe. It is an insult to the great world of culture, of Christian culture, which we have drawn upon and co-created, contributing to it also at the cost of suffering. (...) European culture was as created by the martyrs of the first three centuries as it was created by the martyrs in the East in recent decades, and in our own country in recent decades. This is how Fr. Jerzy contributed to it. He is the patron of our presence in Europe at the cost of the sacrifice of his life, like Christ. Like Christ, he has the right of citizenship in the world; he has the right of citizenship in Europe, because he laid down his life for all of us.” (homily in Włocławek, 7.06.1991).

May our conscience never be covered with mold

Pope John Paul II attributed great importance to Fr. Jerzy’s witness after the fall of Marxist totalitarianism for many reasons. He quoted several statements of the martyred priest during a General Audience in 1990.

“To remain a spiritually free person, one must live in the truth. To live in the truth is to bear witness to it outwardly, to acknowledge it, and to assert it in every single situation. Truth is unchangeable. Truth cannot be destroyed by one decision or another and by this or that law (31.10.1982).” “Let us prioritize living in Truth if we do not want our conscience to be covered with mould (27.02.1983).”

Exceptional interest of Vatican media

The Vatican’s media outlets showed an unprecedented interest in the abduction and death of Fr. Popiełuszko.

From October 22, 1984, L’Osservatore Romano covered the story’s developments each day on its front page. The headlines from the first days after the abduction read: “All of Poland concerned about Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko”; “Moments of horror in Poland after the abduction of a priest”; “Whole Poland mobilized in the case of Fr. Popiełuszko.” On October 25, the Vatican newspaper published information on the abductors’ arrest on its front page. 

In its following issues, L’Osservatore Romano published one more appeal by Pope John Paul II and the world’s reactions, including the words of the Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger: “We are living at a time of murderers.”