Cardinal Dziwisz came to Krzeszów with the blood of the Pope, accompanied by “his Dziwisz” – secretary in the person of Deacon Andrea Nardotto, an Italian, whom he himself ordained in secret. Nardotto followed closely behind him, dressed modestly, with an overcoat and an umbrella. The constant presence of the Italian at the cardinal’s side is a matter of jokes in Krakow.
– It’s not only Krakow who is joking, but there was disgust in the Krakow Church itself. Holding hands between two priests is a bit too much even by Italian standards of behavior, laughs Terlikowski. Because during his ordination as a deacon, the cardinal and Nardotto joined hands.
An ordinary pump
In front of the basilica, the cardinal quickly said goodbye. No sentiment. – It’s impressive – he said about the basilica when the relic was still being incensed.
Terlikowski: – Cardinal. Dziwisz has already experienced this thousands of times.
And that’s actually the case. He donates blood and pieces of clothing to smaller parishes and large sanctuaries. The pomp in churches scattered around Poland is still little compared to the celebrations in which he participated in the Vatican and during pilgrimages around the world.
After the ceremony, the parish priest from Krzeszów, Fr. Łukasz Langenfeld, visited by Cardinal. Dziwisz in Krakow, in his apartments at ul. Kanonicza, at the foot of Wawel.
Holding the purple man’s hand as if he didn’t want to. so that it would slip away too quickly, he thanked him for the visit and the relic of John Paul II. The cardinal recalled the basilica full of people and gushed about the piety of the faithful.
The gifted priest kissed the cardinal’s hands. But Dziwisz immediately – despite his 85 years of age – jumped up briskly to disappear from the frame. John Paul II and Cardinal watched over this scene from the painting. Stefan Wyszyński.
Meeting with the victims
November. A month later. At Jasna Góra, almost a hundred bishops met with several victims of pedophile priests. Robert Fidura, Jakub Pankowiak, Tośka Szewczyk – these are people harmed by clergy. “Undead” – as they sometimes call themselves, they avoid the word “victims” like the plague. They told their stories, and they had a lot to talk about, but most of all they talked to their Excellencies.
Pankowiak was one of the characters in the documentary “Hide and Seek” by brothers Tomasz and Marek Sekielski. Fidura was sexually abused by a vicar as a teenager. Szewczyk is the author of the book “I’m not dead. From harm to freedom”, she also integrates the community of people harmed by priests.
After the meeting, the victims commented on it as “extremely open, honest”, “historical”, “very substantive”.
Cardinal Dziwisz did not participate in it. There was no archbishop. Marek Jędraszewski, Metropolitan of Krakow. But the auxiliary bishop from Krakow, Damian Muskus, subtly, in an ecclesiastical style, pointed out the absence of Jędraszewski and Dziwisz. He wrote: “There was no Excellency… [tak tytułuje się arcybiskupów – red.]. Those who feel most comfortable in the pulpit sat in a circle like disciples. They did not hear the titles given to them during solemn celebrations and on a daily basis. So there was no eminence [tak tytułuje się kardynałów – red.] and Excellency, were brothers.
– Those who wanted came. The meeting was open. Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz is retired, but very active. He sometimes appears at episcopal meetings, but he has not met us, says Robert Fidura.
Without obligation or will
– He had no such obligation – I comment in a conversation with Fidura. As a retired bishop, he does not have to appear at episcopate meetings.
– Nobody was obliged to come to talk to us. But there is a moral obligation, because the cardinal should look us, the wronged, us, the undead, in the eye. Nobody choked anyone there. The Cardinal could have appeared and listened calmly. Nothing bad would really happen to him. As many bishops as came, as many left – no one was harmed. We did not stigmatize the bishops by name, we did not turn this meeting into a courtroom – emphasizes Fidura.
When asked about this absence, Fr. Robert Nęcek, former spokesman for the Archdiocese of Krakow, and today a professor at the John Paul II Pontifical University, tells “Newsweek”: – I do not judge the behavior of any bishop. Looking at the attitude of Pope Francis, I believe that meetings and conversations with the wronged are the only right direction to solve this issue.
Stories about pedophilia and bishops harboring sexual predators have truly floored the Catholic Church.
Fr. Nęcek: – 11 years ago I wrote that pedophilia is a heart attack for the Church. If we respond promptly to this heart attack, we will survive it. And if we are late or want to wait it out, we are asking for death.
The relics of John Paul II are the last support of the cardinal’s prestige. Dziwisz. He himself is a living relic of the Pope
Village head in Krakow
Today, Cardinal is asking for such an attack on the Church. You’re surprised.
Fidura: – Cardinal Dziwisz knows the most. But he seems to remember the least.
There were many serious allegations that Cardinal Dziwisz hid pedophile priests. The late Fr. Tadeusz Isakowicz-Zaleski directly proved that the cardinal was lying. The priest said that he personally delivered a letter to the cardinal about the case of Fr. Jan Wodniak, who molested an altar boy. Dziwisz claimed he knew nothing about it, but then the curia itself found this letter in its archives. The moral winner turns out to be a deceased private priest who took care of people with disabilities on a daily basis, a priest who wanted to throw off his cassock many years ago because he felt oppressed by Dziwisz.
However, the cardinal is in Krakow today, as Fr. prof. Robert Nęcek, very well remembered by the clergy and the faithful as a good host of the diocese, who was also likeable.
Because the cardinal is straightforward, jovial, jokes and talks. He has many nicknames: he was called “slippery”, the former president of Krakow, prof. Jacek Majchrowski maliciously called him a “village head”, which was intended to emphasize the cardinal’s intellectual deficit. But there are also more ominous terms: “don Stanislawo”, “Il papa vuole” (which means in Italian: “the pope wants” or “the pope wishes”). And the deacon, who is the cardinal’s secretary, is sometimes called “don Andrea”.
– Cardinal After the interview for TVN, conducted by Piotr Kraśko, Dziwisz realized that his time had passed and he should no longer appear in the media, says Terlikowski. Since then, he has not been exposed to embarrassing questions. He basically only talks to Catholic media, and the interviews are written in quite sophisticated Polish, which cannot be heard from the cardinal’s mouth.
Distribute as you wish
Cardinal Dziwisz often travels around Poland, Germany and Italy. He talks about the teachings of John Paul II everywhere, sometimes delivering his relics.
The Pope wrote in his will: “I leave no property that should be disposed of. Please distribute the everyday items that I used as I see fit. Burn my personal notes. I ask that Father Stanisław will take care of these matters.”
And Cardinal Dziwisz distributes relics as he pleases, including the pope’s blood.
– The tradition of relics itself is as rich as the entire history of the Church is rich in positives and negatives. Everything is OK with their cult if the faithful look at them with faith. And without faith it is already crooked – emphasizes Fr. Robert Nęcek.
Relics? – For me, this is a strange situation that resembles the trade in relics. This is something really wrong. He created himself as the custodian of the memory of John Paul II, and he simply distributes his relics like blood – says Robert Fidura.
The relics of John Paul II have already become commonplace. Even if they are in gilded, ornate reliquaries and with a certificate of authenticity attached.
– From the public sphere, Cardinal. Dziwisz is eliminated by the fact that John Paul II has lost much of his importance for people. Dziwisz is also eliminating himself through his behavior regarding pedophilia stories in the Church. His constant telling that he didn’t know anything, didn’t know anything, didn’t get the letter and everything was great, means that he isn’t treated seriously, says Terlikowski.
It is not known what other relics the Cardinal has. You’re surprised. He once said that he had a recording of John Paul II’s voice from the last minutes before the operation at the Gemelli clinic with a very personal confession from the pope, but he said he would never reveal it.
Monument of life
The blood relics of John Paul II are also included in the greatest work of Cardinal’s life. Dziwisza: John Paul II Center “Do not be afraid”. There is blood collected at the Gemelli clinic and given to Cardinal. Dziwisz. The ampoule was closed in a glass box and placed inside a marble altar standing in the center of the church.
Less than a year after the death of John Paul II (he died on April 2, 2005), Stanisław Dziwisz returned to Krakow as archbishop of this archdiocese. And on January 2, 2006, he signed a decree establishing the John Paul II Center. Almost 10 years ago, when he retired, he said that he would like to have a “modest position in the center” and commemorate the Pope. Just cross the bridge over the Wilga and you are already in the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Krakow’s Łagiewniki.
Tomasz Terlikowski: – The John Paul II Center is a parasite on the sanctuary in Łagiewniki, which is right next door. It would have been better to create a center for research and propagation of the teachings of John Paul II and to write a full biography of Karol Wojtyła, also with difficult themes. However, it is difficult to expect from Cardinal. Dziwisz to come up with such an idea.
Predator mosaics
The center is a huge facility on a hill. With a statue of the Pope in the middle of the square.
You can see the splendor. Inside there are gigantic mosaics by former Jesuit Marko Rupnik – the most famous and expensive author of sacred mosaics in the Catholic Church. At least until he was excommunicated because it turned out he was a sexual predator.
For now, however, Rupnik’s mosaics can be viewed. But questions have already begun to arise about what to do with them. Cover? In the National Sanctuary of St. John Paul II in Washington (where there are also drops of the pope’s blood donated by Cardinal Dziwisz) the work of the predator has already been covered up. Behind the altar, instead of shiny figures, there is a navy blue curtain.
In the sanctuary at ul. Totus Tuus (this is the Latin motto of John Paul II: “All Yours”) in Krakow would require many such huge curtains to cover basically all the walls.
In the latest interview for KAI, the cardinal was asked how he assessed the pilgrimage movement in the sanctuary he created. “Today it is a bustling place,” replied the purple man.
This is an exaggeration. Pilgrims are attracted by Łagiewniki, and there are so many relics of John Paul II scattered around Poland and the world that they do not arouse great emotions.
This is theater
In the Archdiocese of Krakow, Cardinal You don’t mean much anymore. Archbishop Jędraszewski took over the reins of the diocese with an iron hand and eliminated his influence. As Tomasz Terlikowski says, the importance of Cardinal There are virtually no Dziwisz in Poland anymore. – It is also disappearing in the world, because the entire generation of hierarchs with whom the “vice pope”, as he was once called, is retiring or dying.
Cardinal Dziwisz remains the ruler of relics. He watches the elation of the increasingly smaller crowds at the sight of them. Terlikowski: – But Cardinal. Dziwisz is not a stupid person. He knows this is theater. Just 10-15 years ago, there were hot emotions around John Paul II and himself as the Pope’s closest collaborator. And now they have expired. Today Cardinal Dziwisz is an older man who is aware that his time has passed.
