The circumstances of the coronavirus have suggested the postponement of the beatification of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, primate of the millennium of Poland, scheduled for June 7, but logically people are still talking about him. Cardinal Wyszyński is distinguished for having celebrated with a novena of years (since 1957), the thousandth anniversary of the baptism of Prince Mieszko I, in 966, founder of the Piastów dynasty, which gave birth to what is now Poland.
A few months ago I wrote a short biographical sketch of Cardinal Wyszyński, which was published in this magazine. There I explained a little of the suffering of this prelate who spent three years (1953-1956) locked up in various places, all his rights violated, in a continuous threat of being condemned to death without any trial by the communist authorities. From that time of suffering came his idea to make a novena for years throughout the country, together with the Virgin of Jasna Góra in Częstochowa, the thousand years of the Christianization and foundation of Poland, so that the atheist rulers of the time would be clear that the identity of that nation could not do without its Christian roots.
Now, on the occasion of his beatification, I would like to write something in relation to a fundamental characteristic of the new Blessed and of every Christian: knowing how to forgive. Cardinal Wyszyński always forgave wholeheartedly, he did not bear any grudges and malice towards his enemies. It is not something that is easy to achieve, rather it is almost impossible without the help of grace.
As we have noted, a particularly important time in the life of Primate Wyszyński were the three years of imprisonment, from September 1953 to October 1956. He forgave the agents of the state security service who guarded him and did not spare him all kinds of humiliations. Above all, he forgave the leaders of the totalitarian and undemocratic communist state, who made the decision to arrest and imprison him.
Gomulka, first communist secretary
On Christmas Eve 1953, he wrote in his diary Pro memoria: "Nobody and nothing forces me to hate them".. And on the last day of that year, in his examination of conscience according to the virtue of charity, he wrote down: "I want to be clear. I have a deep awareness of the offense being done to me by the government. In spite of that I do not want to have feelings of enmity against any of those people. I would not know how to do them the slightest harm. I have the feeling that I am in the truth, that I persevere in love, that I am a Christian and a son of my Church, which has taught me to love everyone, even those who consider themselves my enemies, and to treat them as brothers.". These words written and lived by the new Blessed show his heroism.
The Primate received many offenses from the Polish Communist authorities before and after his imprisonment. Especially from the first secretary of the Polish communist party, Władysław Gomułka (in the years 1956-1970), who had a particular hatred for the cardinal, frequently attacked him publicly with contempt and accused him of national treason for signing the joint treaty with the German bishops of reconciliation. Twice he denied him a passport, which made it impossible for him to travel to Rome. He destroyed thousands of copies of his books printed in France and taken to Poland. "I forgive you wholeheartedly." -wrote Wyszyński in his diary-. "and Gomułka's greatest offenses and slights I will totally forget them.".
Forgiveness means the victory of wisdom and Christian love. It is something that God expects from each one of us and one of the main teachings of Jesus Christ in the prayer he taught us to repeat continually: "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.".
"When we seek forgiveness, we must first be willing to forgive."he said, and he was consistent with his words. In 1966, at the end of the novena of years of pilgrimage and preaching, suffering continuous offenses and attacks from the communist authorities, he solemnly said in Gnieźno: "I would be a bad shepherd and you should not in justice listen to my voice, if I demanded love and forgiveness for all your enemies and I did not act in this way." He added that there was no room in his heart for resentment and enmity towards anyone. "That is what my Master and Lord, Jesus Christ, taught me! With the strength of these teachings I try, dear children, to teach you charity towards all, a heroic charity: 'Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who persecute and slander you'".
For those who fight against the Church
He forgave and prayed for those who persecuted him. In his breviary, which he used during his imprisonment, he wrote down his intentions: "for the homeland and for its president", and also "for those who fight against the Church." and had the names written on it: Bolesław Bierut; Franciszek Mazur, president of the parliament; Antoni Vida, head of the Ministry of Confessional Affairs; and also by "the party, security agents and prison guards". In March 1956, upon learning of the death of Bierut, first secretary of the party and the highest authority of the Polish communist government, he offered Holy Mass for his eternal rest and expressed his grief as a sign of mourning by dispensing for a certain time with walks within his confinement in Komanczy, where he was under arrest by order of the same deceased first secretary.
What from a purely human point of view seems absurd, from the perspective of faith can be understood and achieved thanks to divine help. Love your enemies, wrote Wyszyński, "Therein lies the summit of Christianity and of the progress of human civilization. To love and to be able to pray for them. And what do I ask of God? I ask him for the strength to love them. It is difficult, very difficult, but it is the most important thing we must ask for: love for those who offend us.".
Also inside
He forgave also within the Church. First of all, the bishops who, after their arrest, lacked courage and fidelity to the primate, and for fear of suffering the same penalties, submitted to the provisions of the communist government. The strong Non possumus of Wyszyński was not supported by the episcopate. Upon his release from confinement, although he was greatly hurt by the lack of loyalty of his brothers in the episcopate, he knew how to understand the circumstances, forgive and forget.
Nor did he have any rancor, but rather gratitude, towards the priest and the nun, the two collaborators of the system, who during the three years of isolation were his constant and only companions. The primate, who was by no means naive, probably knew that they were collaborators and spies, as was later demonstrated, but he never complained nor did he have any words to show lack of confidence in them or accusations of collaborationism. A priest of the curia admitted to being a collaborator of the secret services of the State. For the courage to admit it and for wanting to change, Wyszyński not only kept him in the curia but appointed him director of the general secretariat. In one of his texts, he wrote: "What a great thing it is to forget and to forgive! It frees us inwardly, and makes man truly great, and at the same time close as a brother. Therein lies true love, therein lies true friendship! Forgiveness gives us back our freedom, it is the key we all have when we find ourselves locked inside our own prison."
Krakow
