Attack On Church In Poland

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31659, 20 April 1968, Page 13

Attack On Church In Poland

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) WARSAW, April 19. Polish Roman Catholic Church leaders have been attacked by a top Communist for supporting students demonstrating last month for intellectual and democratic freedoms. Mr Jozef Kepa, first secretary of the Warsaw Communist Party committee, told a party meeting that “the voice of the reactionary part of the church hierarchy" had been heard amongst forces united against the people’s power. Observers said it was the first time the authorities had publicly attacked the Church for its stand on the student

troubles. The criticism seemed clearly aimed at the Primate, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, who has praised the students for their maturity and moderation. Mr Kepa said that in a purge being carried out in Warsaw, 80 people had been dismissed from their posts—including some with the rank of Ministers, Deputy Ministers, department directors and heads of institutions. Thirty workers of the “ideological front” had been relieved of their duties, and 97 persons expelled from the party. Mr Kepa also attacked extremism by some Polish newspapers in a political debate now being conducted in the press in the wake of the student unrest. Examples of this, he said, were “clamorous denunciations, over-simplification of the notion of Zionism, and hasty generalisations on certain alarming facts in our social and economic life." Observers said this appeared to be an attempt to calm the political atmosphere and to moderate some of the more violent press attacks, particularly against proIsraeli Jews.