In the darkness of mystery... 40 years after the death of Blessed priest Jerzy Popiełuszko

Abstract

Forty years after the death of Father Jerzy Popiełuszko, we know more, but still not everything. Apart from the indisputable facts of who was convicted for it and where the priest’s body was found, the rest – reconstructed despite unfinished investigations – is more of an inference based on fractional certainties. The comparison of the official version, which constitutes the basis of the indictment, with the lies, omissions and manipulations during the trial shows, and still only partially, how multilayered the so-called “Popiełuszko case”. Apart from the hideous manner of taking his life, the dramatic content of this crime was political calculations. The authorities, who constantly accused the Church of “interfering in politics”, turned the actions of Church people into an instrument of politics. This death, despite the passage of years, still requires explanation and understanding of what it actually was in the history of Poland and the Church.