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WARSAW, Poland (AP) – The priest in charge of caring for Polish pilgrims at the Vatican collaborated with the communist secret police in the 1980s during the reign of Polish native Pope John Paul, an official said Wednesday.
An investigation into communist-era persecution of the Roman Catholic church in Poland turned up documents showing that the Rev. Konrad Stanislaw Hejmo, a Dominican, “was a secret collaborator of the Polish secret services under the names of Hejnal and Dominik,” said Leon Kieres, head of the state-run National Remembrance Institute that investigated Nazi and communist crimes in Poland.
Hejmo’s Dominican superior, the Rev. Maciej Zieba, said he saw the files, which he termed “convincing and shocking.”
Andrzej Paczkowski, a historian at the institute, said the files contain about 700 pages and cover the years through the 1980s.
Hejmo, 69, who was close to John Paul’s entourage but not part of his inner circle, could not immediately be reached for comment. The Vatican said it had no comment.
“We are still not sure of the type of the co-operation, whether he was simply talking about the Holy Father with the secret services or was actually providing secret information on him,” Bishop Tadeusz Pieronek told The Associated Press. “If he was providing information, then this would be a very sad truth.”
MORE:
cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/Pope/2005/04/27/1015538.html
An investigation into communist-era persecution of the Roman Catholic church in Poland turned up documents showing that the Rev. Konrad Stanislaw Hejmo, a Dominican, “was a secret collaborator of the Polish secret services under the names of Hejnal and Dominik,” said Leon Kieres, head of the state-run National Remembrance Institute that investigated Nazi and communist crimes in Poland.
Hejmo’s Dominican superior, the Rev. Maciej Zieba, said he saw the files, which he termed “convincing and shocking.”
Andrzej Paczkowski, a historian at the institute, said the files contain about 700 pages and cover the years through the 1980s.
Hejmo, 69, who was close to John Paul’s entourage but not part of his inner circle, could not immediately be reached for comment. The Vatican said it had no comment.
“We are still not sure of the type of the co-operation, whether he was simply talking about the Holy Father with the secret services or was actually providing secret information on him,” Bishop Tadeusz Pieronek told The Associated Press. “If he was providing information, then this would be a very sad truth.”
MORE:
cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/Pope/2005/04/27/1015538.html