The beatification of the ‘priest of Solidarność’ offers a focus for remembrance of all who have defied authoritarian regimes
Today Father Jerzy Popiełuszko, the “priest of Solidarność” – the freedom movement that saw the eventual fall of communism in Poland – will be beatified in Warsaw. Killed by communist agents in the early 80s, Popiełuszko became the symbol of the Polish struggle for liberty in the face of the political oppression of the postwar years, and is now being recognised as a Catholic martyr. His example shows us that saints who were political dissenters, inspired as much by love of their country and of justice as by love of God, can transcend boundaries between religious and secular…
Sophia Deboick 