Pope Francis is set to arrive Wednesday in Poland, but the homeland of Saint Pope John Paul II – Francis’ most popular modern-day predecessor – is not rolling out the red carpet for the pontiff whose social agenda has alienated many in the conservative nation.
Advertisement
Buses of Polish security forces are moving into Krakow as thousands of young people gather ahead of the arrival of Pope Francis for World Youth Day, a major gathering of Catholics from around the world. A previously scheduled speech was cancelled, with Pope Francis deciding to honor those who lost their lives in a different way, stating he “would like to go to that place of horror without speeches, without crowds – only the few people necessary”. The letter praised the late Pope John Paul II three times, yet made no mention of Pope Francis.
Economic systems should not focus exclusively on consumerism but also on “the full realisation of each individual and genuine development”, Pope Francis said on Monday. Although the statement from the Polish bishops’ conference does not dwell on the question of Islam, the implicit message is that unlike other European countries, Poland has not, to date, seen a large number of Muslim immigrants.
He said: “We’re being very well looked after by the Polish authorities. This does not concern us”.
“It will be good if he says it, and it will be commented on, but it will soon be forgotten”, he said.
Catholic figures in Poland have been widely seen to reinforce the government’s nationalist views. Kosicki, writing in the Catholic magazine Commonweal, concluded that the priest, Jacek Miedlar, represented “a nationalist revival for which being Catholic and Polish implies also being anti-European, anti-pluralist and anti-liberal”.
But critics said the move was more a gesture than a real attempt to ease the plight of refugees.
Ribadeau Dumas said the issue of migrants is “sensitive” but insisted that parishes across Europe should respond to Francis’ call for migrants to be accepted there, as they have been in France.
On Saturday morning, July 30, he will visit the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy at Lagienwniki in Krakow, and pray in the chapel of St. Faustina Kowalska, whose private revelations led to the spread of this devotion and inspired John Paul II to write his encyclical on the subject.
They are among a group of 14 teenagers and young adults from St. Charles Borromeo in Bensalem and St. John the Evangelist in Lower Makefield who left Sunday for the gathering of Catholic youth that Pope John Paul II established in 1985.
Advertisement
Kosicki told The AP in a telephone interview that “the substance of what he says doesn’t compute for the vast majority of Poland”.
