Tadeusz Isakowicz-Zaleski


Tadeusz Bohdan Isakowicz-Zaleski is a Polish Roman Catholic and Armenian Catholic priest, author and activist. Born in 1956, in Kraków, Isakowicz-Zaleski was an activist of the anticommunist student opposition in Kraków in the late 1970s, became a Solidarity chaplain in Kraków's Nowa Huta district in the 1980s, and later an avid supporter of the lustration of the Polish Church. On 3 May 2006, he was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, one of Poland's highest orders. Subsequently in 2007, he was awarded the Order of the Smile and Polish Ombudsmans Order of Paweł Włodkowic.
In 1985, he was twice tortured by Poland's communist-era secret police, and some twenty years later in 2006 he started researching the secret police archives kept by Poland's Institute of National Remembrance to discover that 39 Archdiocese of Kraków priests had collaborated with the regime between 1944 and 1989. This resulted in the much publicized 'Church Spy scandal' in Poland, where till then the Polish Church was only known for its role in battling communism and preserving traditional and national values both during the partitions of Poland and in the communist era. Subsequently in 2007 he published his controversial book "Księża wobec bezpieki na przykładzie archidiecezji krakowskiej" on priests who cooperated with communist secret services. He is the subject of a documentary 'Poland's Turbulent Priest', shown on BBC World News in 2009, about his struggle with the communist regime and the Polish church.

Life

Father Isakowicz-Zaleski was born in Krakow to a Polish father and an Armenian mother. Since high school years he was engaged in several Roman Catholic youth organizations. After graduating, he entered a seminary in his native city, which did not prevent him from being called for service in the Polish Army. He served in the years 1975-1977 in Brzeg. In the late 1970s, after returning to the seminary, he joined the anticommunist student movements, such as Student Committee of Solidarity. He co-published a Samizdat magazine Cross of Nowa Huta, also in 1977 he debuted in Tygodnik Powszechny with his poems.
In 1980, Isakowicz-Zaleski became engaged in the Solidarity movement; three years later he was ordained and chosen to continue studies at the Papal Armenian Collegium in Rome. Unfortunately, he was not allowed to leave Communist Poland, because of his underground activities. Isakowicz-Zaleski began working in Krakow’s district of Nowa Huta, where he celebrated Mass for the workers and for the fatherland in the Maximilian Kolbe parish in Mistrzejowice. Throughout the 1980s, he was repressed, and the Communist secret service agents twice brutally beat him. Both incidents happened in 1985, and came in the wake of the notorious 1984 murder of fellow Solidarity priest Jerzy Popiełuszko. The first attack occurred in April at his mother's home, where after gaging him the agents burned a V sign – the victory sign of the outlawed Solidarity trade union which he supported – on his chest with a cigarette. Later in December of the year, he was attacked again, this time at his presbytery. His ordeal was later used by Polish director Maciej Gawlikowski in his 2006 film To Intimidate the Priest.
In 1988, as a priest of the workers, he participated in the strike in Nowa Huta’s Lenin Steel Mill. At the same time, he began helping the poor and the handicapped, together with nuns from local convents. In 1987, he co-founded charitable Foundation of Brother Albert Chmielowski. He remained director of the Foundation, which owns a shelter in the village of Radwanowice in the suburbs of Krakow.
In 2006, after months of research at Institute of National Remembrance, he drafted a book on the collaboration between Catholic priests and government agents. But Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz of Kraków denied him the permission to publish it, unless it is vetted in advance by archdiocesan officials. On 3 May 2006, Father Zaleski was awarded one of Poland's highest Orders, the Polonia Restituta by President Lech Kaczyński. In November 2006, he received an apology from the nation's Catholic primate, Cardinal Józef Glemp of Warsaw, for earlier criticizing his research into collaboration between the clergy and the Communist-era secret police.
In February 2007 he finally published his controversial book, "Ksieza wobec bezpieki na przykladzie archidiecezji krakowskiej" on priests who cooperated with communist secret services.

Activities

Armenian Community in Poland

Reverend Isakowicz-Zaleski is a pastor of Armenian Catholic parish in Gliwice since 1 December 2009. Between 2001 and 2009 he was the national clergyman and national chaplain of the Armenian community of Poland. He popularizes knowledge about the history and culture of Armenia itself, as well as about the rich history of the Armenian minority in Poland. He initiated cooperation between older and newer waves of Armenian immigrants. Father Zaleski, who is related to the Catholic Armenian Rite archbishop of Lviv, Izaak Mikolaj Isakowicz, also promotes the erection of a monument in Krakow to commemorate Armenian Genocide.

Charity and Helping the Disabled

In 1997, Archbishop Franciszek Macharski named Father Zaleski honorary canon of the Krakow Archdiocese in appreciation for his charity-related activities. However, Zaleski, who is known in Krakow for his charity works, resigned from this post in 2006, protesting allegations aimed at him. Together with Janina Ochojska, he was a participant in several humanitarian convoys to such countries as the former Yugoslavia, Albania, Chechnya and Ukraine. In September 2007, Polish Ombudsman awarded him the Order of Pawel Wlodkowic for courage in fighting for basic values and truths, against the opinions of the majority. He was also awarded the Order of the Smile. Since 2007, he has been cooperating with the Gazeta Polska weekly. Isakowicz-Zaleski runs the Brother Albert Foundation.

Massacres of Poles in Volhynia

Reverend Zaleski, who lost several members of his family in a campaign of ethnic cleansing of Poles in modern Western Ukraine, has for years been fighting to commemorate the Polish victims. In 2008 he unsuccessfully appealed to the Government of Poland, stating that it should officially condemn the Volhynian Genocide. He stated that political correctness in Poland makes it impossible to mention these tragic events. In 2008 he wrote the book Subdued Genocide in Kresy, in which, among other things, he describes the fate of his family and of the village of Korosciatyn near Monasterzyska, which was destroyed by Ukrainian nationalists, and its inhabitants murdered. He frequently criticizes not only members of the Polish Government, together with president Kaczynski, but also Roman Catholic hierarchy, such as Primate Jozef Glemp and Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, claiming that they have neglected sufferings of Poles in Western Ukraine and they do not protest when Ukrainian nationalists are awarded orders.

Lustration of Polish Clergy

In 2005, during the 25th Anniversary Celebrations of Solidarity, Zaleski was tipped off that there was a pre-1989 secret police file on him in Krakow. By then, under new Polish law, one could view one's own file, as well as those who informed on you. He sought permission from the IPN to study the documents. Subsequently he found some five hundred pages of material on himself alone, names of fellow priests who had allegedly spied on him, and also a video of himself being gagged and beaten by thugs. He was swiftly able to identity several clergymen who had informed on him. Most crucially, evidence suggested that four figures who had risen to bishop status by 2005 were themselves past informers.
In February 2006, Zaleski came up with the idea of revealing the names of priests from the Archdiocese of Kraków who had been secret informers of the Communist secret service. As he himself had been victimized by Communist agents, he obtained access to his files, kept by the Institute of National Remembrance, as an injured party. Thus, he appealed publicly for all the priests who had served as secret agents for the Security Service to step forward and reveal themselves, causing a furor.
In August of the same year, Zaleski revealed that he had sent letters to priests registered as secret collaborators. His activities were harshly criticized by the Krakow Curia and Zaleski received an order from his superiors to refrain from making public statements about this subject. Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz stated that Isakowicz-Zaleski had received a permit to conduct research exclusively into the repression that he himself faced under communism. Dziwisz condemned his "irresponsible and harmful" activities in a public letter, warned him to stop "throwing accusations", and finally ordered him to be silent Eventually Dziwisz gave his permission for Zaleski to notify the clergymen before he identified them and allowed them to comment.
Nevertheless, Zaleski persisted saying that the church "must repent for the misdeeds of compromised priests". He told the Wprost Weekly, that in the fall of 2006 he was in a personal crisis and considered resigning from the priesthood. His research in the secret police files showed that 39 Krakow priests had collaborated with the regime. Four of them were now bishops. "The whole tragedy is that the church had 16 years to take care of the problem, and it didn't do a thing", stated Zaleski, adding that the Church "didn't want to hurt the pope, but actually, more harm was done by keeping silent".
On 28 February 2007, Znak publishing house issued Zaleski’s book Ksieza wobec bezpieki na przykladzie diecezji krakowskiej, in which he addressed the topic of the extent to which Poland’s Roman Catholic Church was infiltrated by communist security. In November, Zaleski was awarded the Prize of Jozef Mackiewicz. The book sparked huge public attention, with people signing up at bookstores to make sure they would get a copy. Zaleski decided to donate the royalties to charity.

Publications