Tuesday, August 3, 2010

The Cross and the State: Poland in Plane Crash Wake

[Wall Street Journal] Many Poles hoped that April plane crash of the Polish presidential jet would shock the nation enough to bridge the divide between conservative and liberal camps. But it’s only added fuel to the already heated debate about whose values should prevail.

Today’s demonstration and controversy about the removal of the cross erected in front of the presidential palace as a memorial to those who died in the tragedy shows Poland is once again divided into “true Poles” — those pledging their allegiance to the core of Poland’s Catholic Church — and all others, exposing deep rifts about the role of the Catholic church and its relationship with the Polish state.

The “true” Poles won their battle on Tuesday when, gathered in their hundreds, they prevented the relocation of the memorial.

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