Józef Glemp

Early life and ordination

Józef Glemp was born in Inowrocław on 18 December 1929 as a son of Kazimierz Glemp and Salomea Kośmicka, and was baptized the same day. His father had participated in the Greater Poland Uprising from 1918 to 1919. Józef studied at the seminaries of Gniezno and Poznań, but his education was interrupted by the World War II; he and his siblings were slave laborers during the Nazi occupation of Poland. Glemp was ordained to the priesthood on 25 May 1956 by Bishop Franciszek Jedwabski. Glemp was of German descent on his father's side. On a visit to Scotland, he claimed Scottish descent on his mother's side.

Canon law

After two years of pastoral service in Poznań, Glemp was sent to Rome in 1958 to study canon law at the Pontifical Lateran University, earning his doctorate in utroque iure in 1964, with a thesis on: De evolutione conceptus fictionis iuris. After his practicum he was given the title of Advocate of the Roman Rota. He attended a course in stylistic Latin at the Pontifical Gregorian University and also finished his studies in ecclesial administration.

Chaplain

In 1964, Glemp completed all of his studies in Rome and returned to Gniezno in Poland. He became chaplain of the Dominican and Franciscan Sisters and teacher of religion in the house for delinquent minors. He worked as Secretary of the Seminary of Gniezno and as notary for the Curia and the metropolitan tribunal and also as defender of the bond.

Secretariat of the Primate

In December 1967, he worked in the Secretariat of the Primate, and for 15 years was one of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński's close collaborators. As the personal chaplain of the Cardinal, he accompanied him on his journeys within Poland and to Rome. He exercised varied responsibilities in the Commissions of the Polish Episcopate and taught Canon Law at the Academy of the Catholic Theology in Warsaw. He participated in several congresses on this topic in Poland and abroad. In 1972 he was named a Chaplain of His Holiness, and in March 1976 be became Canon of the Metropolitan Chapter at Gniezno.

Bishop

On 4 March 1979, John Paul II named Glemp Bishop of Warmia, in the northeast part of Poland and was consecrated on the feast of St. Adalberto, on 21 April, in Gniezno. After the death of Cardinal Wyszyński on 18 May 1981, he was named Archbishop of Gniezno on 7 July 1981, in union "pro hac vice, ad personam" with the Archdiocese of Warsaw. As Bishop of Gniezno he became also the Primate of Poland. (The title of Primate of Poland was conferred on the Archbishop of Gniezno by Pope Martin V in 1418 and confirmed by Leo X in 1515, every Primate of Poland to the time of his election, even if he is not a cardinal, has the right to wear the red "zucchetto" of a cardinal, a privilege already accorded in 1600 and confirmed by Benedict XIV in 1749.)

Cardinal

Glemp was created and proclaimed Cardinal-Priest by John Paul II in the Consistory of 2 February 1983. Titular Church of St. Mary in Trastevere. On 25 March 1992, with the restructuring of the Church dioceses in Poland, John Paul II dissolved the union "ad personam" of Gniezno-Warsaw, naming as Metropolitan Archbishop of Gniezno Bishop Henryk Muszynski. The Pope decided that the title of Primate of Poland should remain linked to the historical heritage of S. Adalberto in the Archdiocese of Gniezno and confirmed that Cardinal Józef Glemp, Archbishop of Warsaw, who had custody of the relics of S. Adalberto, which were venerated in the Cathedral of Gniezno, should continue to bear the title of Primate of Poland. Later, Pope Benedict XVI stipulated that Cardinal Glemp, despite his retirement, would remain primate until 18 December 2009, his 80th birthday.

Episcopal conference

Cardinal Glemp acted as President of the Episcopal Conference of Poland for 23 years, from 1981 until March 2004.

He was president delegate to the 1st Special Assembly for Europe of the Synod of Bishops (1991).

Glemp was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI.

Apostolic administrator

On 7 January 2007, it was announced that Cardinal Glemp would be acting as the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Warsaw due to the resignation of Stanisław Wielgus. On 3 March 2007, Kazimierz Nycz was appointed to the Warsaw see.

Death

Glemp died from lung cancer on 23 January 2013 in Warsaw at the age of 83. Funeral celebrations lasted three days, from 26 to 28 January 2013, and took place in three major churches of Warsaw. On Saturday, 26 January, the cardinal's body was lying in state in the Visitationist Church. On Sunday, the coffin was moved to the Church of the Holy Cross, where a Holy Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the apostolic nuncio to Poland, with the sermon preached by Archbishop Józef Michalik, the head of the Polish Conference of Bishops. After the mass, a funeral procession took the coffin to St. John's Cathedral. The Monday, 28 January 2013 Funeral Mass was attended by president Bronisław Komorowski and his wife Anna, former president Lech Wałęsa, former prime minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki, representatives from the judiciary, the Senate, and the Sejm, and other high-ranking officials from various institutions. Over a hundred prelates from Poland and abroad (among them, Prague's Cardinal Dominik Duka, Budapest's Cardinal Peter Erdo, Barcelona's Cardinal Lluis Martinez Sistach, Cologne's Cardinal Joachim Meisner, and Zagreb's Cardinal Josip Bozanić) concelebrated, with Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, the Archbishop of Kraków, presiding. The homily was given by the Archbishop of Gniezno, Józef Kowalczyk, the incumbent Primate of Poland. Afterwards, the late primate was entombed in a crypt of the Cathedral.

At his Funeral Mass, Cardinal Nycz, who expressed his own gratitude to his deceased predecessor, read a testament from the will of the late Cardinal Primate, of which the following are parts,:

"I give my thanks to God for the grace of faith and the consequences flowing from it." ... "Despite the weakness and sinfulness, I had no breaks in the faith." ... "I am impressed by the zeal of many priests, whose dedication to Christ through Mary is quiet and without fanfare." ... (Regarding Czestochowa): "... Poland learned to love and understand the history of the gracious providence of God." ... "I am strongly sorry for all the Brothers and Sisters in Christ, for the distress caused by the lack of proper love. I could not always appreciate the efforts and dedication of many."

At the beginning of the Funeral Mass, the principal celebrant, Cardinal Dziwisz, said that,:

"Today the Church in Poland and all of our homeland pays tribute to the late Cardinal Joseph Glemp. In the difficult times of Communism, he became boldly and wisely on the side of the people, striving for freedom and complete independence from the totalitarian system. The Primate showed great composure and wisdom of life in the face of extreme political divisions, relieving internal tensions with great prudence, and in tough times of transformation he remained faithful to God and to the Church." Cardinal Dziwisz noted that Cardinal Glemp continued the tradition of the Cardinal Primate of the Millennium, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, strengthening the faith and spirit of the nation, supported by Pope John Paul II.

Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski praised the Cardinal for his later role in "building a free and democratic Poland" and said his own family had benefited from the cardinal's aid committee for imprisoned opposition members. "He was a good son of the homeland and profound patriot, able to act in the name not only of patriotic emotions, but also of a rational view of each situation, quietly evaluating the interests of state and nation," Komorowski said in a funeral oration.

Archbishop Kowalczyk noted the Primate had headed the Polish Church in "hard and uncertain" times. "His life was not easy and his service (was) demanding."

Curial membership

Radio Maryja

Primate Jozef Glemp said in 2005 that the Catholic Radio Maryja was causing a rift in the Church.

Wielgus affair

During the controversy surrounding the alleged collaboration of bishop Stanislaw Wielgus with the communist secret services, Cardinal Glemp said that the prelate was a true servant of God and that media accusations against him were unfounded or exaggerated.

Statements on Jews

Glemp's statements caused some controversy within the Jewish community, including from Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, who repeats statements Glemp is said to have made, including that Jews were "plying [Polish] peasants with alcohol" and "spreading communism" and that they "control the mass-media in many countries." Professor Joanna B. Michlic makes reference to Glemp, among others, "utter[ing] many overt and covert references to Jews as the harmful other in Poland."

Glemp "said he recognized that his widely publicized homily might have caused pain among Jews, and he expressed regret."

Duties

Among the duties of Cardinal Glemp were dedicating and consecrating churches in Poland. For example, Glemp dedicated the temple of Our Lady of Częstochowa Church in Orzechowo on 6 September 1987.