Poland remembers Father Popieluszko - a hero of the Solidarity movement

Earlier this week, Poland marked the 20th anniversary of the murder of pro-Solidarity priest Father Jerzy Popieluszko. The Polish Parliament unanimously adopted a motion honouring his memory, saying that he had 'courageously defended the ideals of truth, freedom and justice. The resolution added that 'his death was one of the last acts of the state terror aimed at its own citizens in the long chain of post-war history'.

The church of St Stanislaus in north Warsaw, where Father Popieluszko worked for many years and where his grave is, is the scene of daily services and prayers for his beatification.

Father Popieluszko was the best known of the many young priests who identified themselves with the Solidarity movement in 1980. After the imposition of martial law, he organized material aid for the families of the interned Solidarity activists. On October 19th 1984 he was abducted, tortured and murdered by communist secret police officers. Over half a million people attended his funeral. His grave has since been visited by some 15 million people for whom the Solidarity priest is someone very important...

"Somebody that made a difference in the history of Poland and also this individual meant so much to so many people whilst he was alive and did so much. And since he died obviously his legacy continues. So he's obviously, for us, just a very important individual".

"For me he's one of the people who defeated communism - Popieluszko, Walesa. I think not the Berlin Wall was first - first was Lech Walesa and Father Popieluszko."

What did the murder of Father Popieluszko mean? How is it seen from the perspective of two decades? I put these questions to Kevin Ruane, the author of the book To Kill a Priest -

"The fact that he was murdered confirmed the opposition in the rightness of their cause. The murder, in fact, was a terrible moment because it was felt personally by people in Poland, not only by just the opposition. But the fact that someone in the authorities had thought they had to kill this priest was a confirmation that what he said was what they wanted to get rid of." In his homilies, Father Popieluszko spoke openly in the defence of human rights and freedoms.

"It is the cross of our homeland that for several decades it has been the scene of efforts to deprive the people, especially young people, of God, and to impose on all an ideology which has nothing to do with the one thousand year long Christian tradition of our nation."

Three years ago, the Vatican started a process of beatification of the slain priest...Is there a chance that the final decision will be taken by Pope John Paul the Second? Jonathan Luxmoore has reported from Warsaw on the religious scene in Central Europe for many years.

"It's a very complicated question, because he is a relatively recent Catholic martyr. It's quite clear that there is still a documentation which is being collected and the church has also had, as in all such cases, to observe very closely how Father Popieluszko's cult has developed. But, I think, certainly it will be the hope of a great many people, even if not under the present Pope certainly, that at least at some stage the beatification will take place and ultimately Father Popieluszko's canonization as well."

Twenty years ago, the communist regime conducted a quick trial in which four security service officers were convicted. All of them have been since released from prison. Historians agree that existing documents give no ground for a judiciary investigation relating to high-ranking communist party officials who may have given the go-ahead for the murder.