Cardinal Nycz; photo - east newsTHENEWSPL. REPORT: A top Polish cardinal is calling for deep reflection on the events of 2010, particularly April’s Smolensk air crash which killed President Kaczynski and 95 others.
In a pastoral letter to be read out in Roman Catholic churches in Poland on Christmas Day, Kazimierz Nycz, the Metropolitan of Warsaw, describes 2010 as a very difficult time for Poles – the year of the Smolensk plane crash and of successive floods which caused extensive damage in many parts of Poland.
“The emotions surrounding these events call for deep reflection and sometimes even silence, following the example of that Word which became silent on the cross,” the Cardinal writes.
The cardinal’s letter comes after a year of bitter argument among politicians over the cause of the Smolensk air crash, and accusations of ‘hate campaigns’ being levelled at political opponents. 2010 also saw the murder of a political activist in Lodz in the autumn.
In his Christmas letter, Cardinal Nycz calls for responsibility for the spoken word, in the family and the work place, in the circle of friends, in the media as well as in social and political life.
The Word
The letter stresses that we are witness to a glaring abuse of the word.
“Grave lies are labelled as departure from the truth, while statements filled with the venom of hatred create absurd divisions among people and whole societies,” Cardinal Nycz wrote, also mentioning the widespread use of the brutal and indecent words in public discourse.
In the Cardinal’s view, the abuse of the spoken word is present also in the way the people talk about the Church as well as in how some of the clergy address the people today.
“It is only using the language of ‘truth and love’ and through respect for man’s dignity and freedom that any human community can be built, from the family to the nation and state,” the letter says, stressing that each and every word should build unity among the people, and not divide them. (mk/pg)
http://www.thenews.pl/national/artykul146034_cardinal-calls-for-truth--love-and-reflection.html
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