Warsaw, Poland - The former personal secretary of Pope John Paul II apologized for actions of Roman Catholic priests who allegedly collaborated with Poland's dreaded communist-era secret security agency, and urged Poles not to lose faith in the church.
"I apologize to those who think that they have been hurt by the attitude of some priests," Poland's PAP news agency quoted Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow as telling some 15,000 people at a Corpus Christi celebration.
Dziwisz referred to resurfaced files that indicate some priests collaborated with security forces that monitored Poles' daily lives under the communists, who were ousted in 1989.
He called for the full truth to be publicly revealed before judgment is passed.
Those named include the Rev. Stanislaw Hejmo, who aided Polish pilgrims who traveled to Rome to meet John Paul, and the Rev. Michal Czajkowski, a popular priest who recently co-chaired the Polish Council of Christians and Jews. Both denied consciously passing information to secret police.
The Catholic church played a key role in protecting the nation's identity and independence during Nazi occupation and then decades of atheist communism.