T. Bogucki, Pro-Solidarity Priest, Dies
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WARSAW — Father Teofil Bogucki, the outspoken pro-Solidarity Roman Catholic cleric, died Wednesday of a stroke at the age of 79.
Bogucki was spiritual mentor to Father Jerzy Popieluszko, who was abducted and killed by secret police in October, 1984.
With Bogucki’s backing, Popieluszko began holding monthly Masses “for the Fatherland” at St. Stanislaw Kostka Church where Bogucki was provost a month after the December, 1981, martial law crackdown that suppressed Solidarity. The Masses became one of the few places where Poles felt free to display their support for the outlawed free trade union.
Popieluszko is buried at St. Stanislaw’s in Warsaw’s northern Zoliborz district. In 1985, four secret police officers were sentenced to prison terms ranging up to 25 years for their involvement in his murder.
The Curia, headed by Polish Primate Jozef Glemp, said in a statement that Bogucki would be buried Saturday beside Popieluszko.
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