Should the pope heart be sent back to Poland?

[Jaga]

This is what some Poles want

As John Paul II moves closer to sainthood three years after his death Polish bishops have launched an initiative to have his heart transferred to Wawel Cathedral in Krakow, Poland's national shrine.

Since his death the body of the Polish-born John Paul has been buried in the crypt of St Peter's Basilica in Rome, where it is venerated by thousands daily. The Vatican is said to be considering moving the tomb into the Basilica itself, where the late pontiff's remains may be displayed in a glass casket when he is beatified, the step before canonisation.

However Monsignor Tadeusz Pieronek, former secretary of the Polish Bishops Conference, said many Poles wanted John Paul's heart to be exhumed after the beatification ceremony and sent as a relic to Krakow, the city where John Paul was cardinal archbishop before being elected Pope in 1978. He said it was up to the Vatican, but such a step was "not excluded".

He was backed by Father Robert Necek, spokesman for the Krakow archdiocese, who said Poland would "certainly want a relic" of John Paul after his beatification. This could be a "fragment" of his body, such as the heart, or some other relic, he told KAI news agency.


www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article3704990.ece

[kaima]

I always thought the history of relics and partitioning a person or having 'splinters of the true cross' to be a bit ... strange. This seems much the same to me, but if the Polish people are so passionate about it, then let it be so.

Kai

[Atlantis5]

Ok so I am not Catholic, ok I am guilty of being of a people that fought a 30 years war against the Catholic princes to the event, they were beaten back to be of power only in the south of our country. We before then, fought the loused Romans to our own demise.

But, this is what I do not understand beyond the church {Catholic} standing of what ever.

But to butcher a dead body for to remove the heart...this is one event I do not understand. The other, is the thought of placing this dead and rotted body into a display case to be viewed for what ever reason.

I was under the understanding of this: Our bodies are sacred for it is God given of his emage...

Ok, some thing is very wrong with this picture...Even though we must endure the Roman use of their loused pagan gods to be used to name the year months by, and then to use the calender as designed by a church of Rome religion pope and former of a Roman emperor. {The Julian and Gregorian Calender}

Am I accurate? Or am I wrong? Or am I writing in the wrong book?

Charles

[jimpres]

Charles,

I understand the Poles wanting there first Pope's heart in Poland. However, the whole body would be better.
But tradition has all the Popes in Rome and I think that is where it should stay.
Being Polish and Catholic I do understand the desire.

Jim

[rdywenur]

I am Polish and Catholic but I don't believe his heart should leave his body. This is the same as a souvenir craze. Isn't it enough to know he was Polish and became a Pope. I think this carries it a bit too far. Sometime the church is crazy.

[freetobe]

Agreed the RC church in Poland is way out on this one. Could this be an effort to hold on to their power base and continue to capitilize on JP II"s legacy? This is a travesty and the Polish Catholic faithful deserve better.

[jeanne]

I am Catholic and of Polish descent, and I do understand why the Bishops want this. I had hoped at the time of his death that his heart would be buried in Poland. Isn't there some tradition in Poland that beloved leaders, etc. have had their hearts buried at Wawel?

The only reason I would be against it is because the Pope himself left instructions that he be buried in St. Peter's. I would think that if he had wanted his heart sent to Poland then he would have included that wish in his instructions. I think his instructions and desires should be respected and he should remain where he is, heart and all.

[Jaga]

I know that for some of you taking the heart from the body sound strange. Poles do have a tradition of removing the hearts of people who were important for Polish culture and were buried abroad and bringing it back to Poland. This happened to Szymanowski and Chopin - both of them were buried abroad. Their hearts were brought back to Poland.

[george]

I agree that John Paul means a great deal to Poles and others. However, i think he might have become a ' Cult Hero" of sort through his pontificate in Poland. Bringing his heart back to Poland i think might carry on this cult . His memory should be enough. He will be proclaimed a Saint shortly. Leave it at that. Cult heroism is not a healthy thing. One must let go.