JARUZELSKI and the other leaders of the Polish Communist Party must now regard the Pope's visit decidedly mixed blessing. On the one hand his public appearances with the CP leaders have given the governlimited Church sanction. On the other hand, his defence of the 1981 Gdansk agreements which legalised Solidarnose has enabled the militants mobilise demonstrations against the government. It should not be thought that the Pope has given his unconditional approval to the Solidarnose underground far from it. He has played a more subtle game.
The Pope's main that there was ciliation' between 'society' Ine "government between Jaruzelski Solidarnosc. In this reconciliation, course, the Church would play the crucial role as mediator. Jaruzelski realises that he cannot afford to make a complete Dreak WITER LIE Church, and has done all 6411 privileged relations with it.
First In fact, the Pope was one of the first people to know that Jaruzelski's 13 December 1981 coup was preceeding even* Polish ammuch-needed opportunity ment has been lessened by the repression.
building of the movement.
The first phase of the resistance consisted of the strikes arallist the December 1981 coup. The EUSL notable a cas of resistance were Gdansk, where the strike at the Lenin shipyard was crushed after four days, and in streets were put down with workers went on throughout the countrv but resistance was crushed the military. In Silesia workers including miners were killed.
A the next si struggles, the next sign resistance was the publication of Solidarity journals. By April the publication in the Lenin shipyard Gdansk Solidarnosc could claim a circulation bassador visited the Pope and made a deal. If the Polish church kep quiet for 48 hours, there would no repression against supported Solidarnose, represwould be minimal.
church faithfully kept its side of bargain and failed to speak out against the nue mall cone ol the Polish church has always been to maintain its own position. To do that it has manoeuvred between government and Solidarnose.
in the davs immediate. ly following the coup the meeting places Solidarnose supporters were the churches.
Aid The Church has utilised its resources to organise aid for the relatives of the detainees. But at the same time Cardinal Glemp, ch, has urged moderation for strikes, for example in November 1982 and again before May Day 1983.
During 1982 the Polish bureaucracy made a big attempt to win the Church to its 'normalisation'฿ process. activities were given great proof church uilding took olace. discussions started for the Pope's visit. But the bureaucracy had to pay a price.
Both the Pope Glemp understand that Solidarnose has won fundamental loyalty following among the Polish workers, it would be disastrous break their links with it.
On the other hand, they don't want a movewhich men! assume revolutionary proportions takes 'extreme acAs Polish LILE workers rebuilds, the Catholic Church wants to maintain maximum intluence Activists Solidarnose activists have been quite right to utilise Pope's statements to demonstrate support for their movement.
temporary boosting of the Church's prestige.
But it would be wrong to conclude that Solidarnose will now become an effectively Catholic movement. In a certain sense it always has been, in that virtually all its supporters Catholic. But that doesn't mean that they will now meekly submit to the authority Archbishop lemp or war lner goals will be confined to those of the Church.
ine Polish workers have charged through the obered up li t Pope. But the Pope doesn't lead Solidarnosc Socialists should defend right Polish workers their organisations of struggle.
If the Pope gives that movement a boost, and goes directions he doesn't want. this Is nis contradication, not ours.
Finally, we should note that the Pope's manoeuvering that LIC Catholic hierarchy - in Warsaw and Rome - IS political from beginning to When the Pope clu. tacks left wing priests in Latin America it's because he disagrees with their Necause they're political. out? And who was now the leadership of Solidarity
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Resistance under martial law