„Postawa nasza musi być jasna i czytelna dla narodu”. Biskup Ignacy Tokarczuk jako członek Episkopatu Polski w okresie prymasostwa kard. Stefana Wyszyńskiego (1965-1981)
‘OUR ATTITUDE MUST BE SOUND AND CLEAR TO THE NATION.’ BISHOP IGNACY TOKARCZUK AS A MEMBER OF THE POLISH EPISCOPATE DURING THE PRIMACY OF CARDINAL STEFAN WYSZYŃSKI (1965–1981)

Summary/Abstract: The article presents a comprehensive outlook on the role of Bishop Ignacy Tokarczuk in the Episcopate of Poland during the Primacy of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński. Chronologically, it covers the period from the hierarch’s appointment as Ordinary of Przemyśl (in 1965) until the Primate’s death (in May 1981). The analysis is based on a number of archival sources, primarily from church collections. Of key importance in this regard were materials from the holdings of the Warsaw Archdiocesan Archives, fond: Secretariat of the Primate of Poland, and from the diaries of Bishop I. Tokarczuk (located in the collection of Rev. Prof. Józef Wołczanski) and Cardinal S. Wyszyński (from the Gniezno Archdiocesan Archives). The text takes a closer look, among other things, at the activity of the Ordinary of Przemyśl in the specialized commissions of the Episcopate, with particular emphasis on the General Commission / Council; the influence of Bishop I. Tokarczuk on strategic decisions made by the conference of Polish bishops; the hierarch’s anticommunist stance – unique among the Polish Episcopate; his approach to the dialogue conducted by the authorities of the People’s Republic of Poland with the Holy See in 1971–1978; the bishop’s attitude toward the PreAugust Opposition and the Solidarity movement. The article proves that Bishop I. Tokarczuk played an important role in the Episcopate of Poland during the Primacy of S. Wyszynski’s, as evidenced not only by his constant presence in the General Commission/Council, but also by the fact that his voice was respected by all the bishops headed by the Primate of the Millennium. The authors share a hope that the information contained therein regarding the role of the Ordinary of Przemyśl in the work of the Polish Episcopate in 1965–1981 will be an important element of the future biography of the hierarch, which still awaits its potential insightful author.

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