An apparent u-turn on earlier denials for Stanislaw Wielgus

The newly-appointed Archbishop of Warsaw has admitted that he worked with the communist-era secret services. In a statement to the media Stanislaw Wielgus says he’s damaged the church. It’s still unclear, however, whether he’ll resign. He’s due to officially take up the post in a ceremony on Sunday. The Catholic Church in Poland had been earlier forced to acknowledge that Wielgus had been an informer for the secret services.

Soon after his appointment, Polish media widely reported that the archbishop had spied on fellow clerics for about 20 years from the late 1960s. In his statement, Wielgus maintained he did not, in his words, “report on anyone nor deliberately try to hurt anyone”. A special church commission, however, contradicted that, saying there is proof he was a willing informer.

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