Angry cries of “Stay with us!” echoed around Warsaw Cathedral yesterday as a tearful, shaking Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus bowed to political pressure and announced his resignation because of his former involvement with the Polish communist secret service.

It was a moment of extraordinary theatre that symbolised some of the deep rifts running through the Church leadership in one of Europe’s most devoutly Catholic countries. It left many Polish commentators doubting the judgment of Pope Benedict XVI, who over the weekend retracted his support for the compromised Archbishop.

Until 30 minutes before his planned inaugural Mass it seemed that the Archbishop would be sworn in as Metropolitan Archbishop of Warsaw.

On Friday the 67-year-old priest had admitted co-operating with the secret police and confessed that he had not told the whole truth about his past when rumours started to circulate a fortnight ago. Scholarly churchman claimed that none of the information that he had passed on had damaged any individual. Moreover, the Vatican was still expressing “full confidence” in its candidate for one of the most powerful positions in the Church hierarchy.

The Archbishop, however, seemed to be counting too heavily on the personal support of the Pope. In his statement, read out in churches on Saturday, he said: “Today before you I confess this mistake made many years ago, as I have already confessed to the Holy Father.”

Vatican officials were alarmed that the Pope’s name was being used in a way that could rip asunder the Polish Church leadership. Some leading lights of the Church — including the anti-communist veteran Archbishop Tadeusz Goclowski of Gdansk — had declined to attend the installation service because of “other engagements”.

On Saturday night crisis talks were held between the Vatican, the Polish Church leadership and the Government. The lights burnt late in the Warsaw residence of Josef Kowalczyk, the Papal Nuncio. According to a Church source, there was also a long conversation between the Pope and Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, Metropolitan Archbishop of Krakow and one of the closest advisers to Pope John Paul II.

One of the key questions for Polish public opinion has been whether the tarnished Archbishop — who was recruited formally by the police in 1973 — spied on the Polish Pope. So far the files suggest not, but many documents have been destroyed and the uncertainty about his past lingers.

The outcome of Saturday night’s talks was that the Pope would accept the Archbishop’s “resignation” if offered. Soon after dawn yesterday a statement was agreed and it was released at 10.27am — barely 30 minutes before the ceremony.

The protocol of the Mass was changed quickly and it became an improvised service of thanksgiving for Cardinal Josef Glemp, the outgoing Metropolitan Archbishop of Warsaw. He will now stay in office until the crisis has been settled. Archbishop Wielgus is likely to retain his title but will not head the Warsaw Archdiocese.

Most of yesterday’s congregation knew nothing of the behind-the-scenes horse-trading. Outside the cathedral, supporters of the Archbishop had to push past other Catholics demanding his resignation. The cathedral was full; the atmosphere electric. When the Archbishop announced his resignation at the altar, “after deep reflection and consideration of my personal situation”, there was a collective gasp. Some of the congregation yelled: “No!” Then, after a short pause, there was ragged applause led by President Lech Kaczynski, who has made clear from the beginning that the Archbishop should go.

Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican’s top spokesman, said that Archbishop Wielgus’s conduct had “gravely compromised his authority” and his resignation was an “adequate solution”. The episode was a “moment of great suffering for the Church,” he added.

The hunting down of former police collaborators — from school teachers to ministers — has been a hallmark of the ruling twin brothers. The Pope, perhaps resenting a political attempt to interfere with Church policy, ignored the pleas and nominated the Archbishop on December 6. Soon afterwards, secret police documents were leaked to the press.

As a result, one of the most religiously motivated Governments in Europe finds itself in an icy relationship with the Vatican. And the Poles, who enthusiastically accepted Joseph Ratzinger as successor to Pope John Paul II, are beginning to wonder about his judgment.

Scandals that shook the Catholic Church

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