Polish nun, cardinal who defied communism are beatified

By VANESSA GERA
Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish political leaders have attended the beatification of two revered figures of the Catholic church in a Warsaw church. One is the cardinal who led the Polish church’s resistance to communism and the other is a nun who devoted her life to helping the blind. The beatification of Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski and Mother Elzbieta Roza Czacka took place at a time of declining church attendance and as some Poles have been leaving the church over sex abuse scandals and the church’s support for a new abortion law. In a time of growing secularization and deep societal divisions, the celebration was a reminder of the moral authority and the unifying power the church once held in Poland.