Marek Jędraszewski (born 24 July 1949) is a
Polish Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
prelate who has been
Metropolitan Archbishop of Kraków since 8 December 2016.
He served as the
Metropolitan Archbishop of Łódź from 2012 to 2017. He has also been Vice-President of the
Polish Episcopal Conference
The Polish Episcopal Conference or Polish Bishops' Conference ( pl, Konferencja Episkopatu Polski) is the central organ of the Catholic Church in Poland. It is composed of 2 cardinals, 28 archbishops and 118 bishops.
Members
** President – abp ...
since 2014.
His selection for the Kraków archdiocese was perceived as a surprise in some quarters.
Life
Marek Jędraszewski was born in
Poznań
Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...
, earned his high school
diploma
A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...
in 1967 and then pursued ecclesial studies until 1973. In mid-1973, he received his
ordination
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...
to the
priesthood from Bishop
Antoni Baraniak. Jędraszewski then studied philosophy at the
Pontifical Gregorian University
The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy.
The Gregorian originated as ...
, where he earned a doctorate.
In 1974 he earned a bachelor's degree in theological studies in Poznań, and from 1973 to 1975 served as a parochial vicar at Saint Martin's parish in Odalnów. He received his bachelor's degree philosophy 1977. On 20 December 1979, he defended his doctoral dissertation and
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
awarded it a gold medal.
From 1980 until 1996, he served in Poznań as an assistant professor and as the prefect of
seminarians
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...
from 1980 until 1987. From 1987 until 1996, he served as the editor (chief editor since 1990) of the ''Catholic Guide'' paper, and in 1996 he did his habilitation degree in
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...
on
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lite ...
and
Emmanuel Levinas
Emmanuel Levinas (; ; 12 January 1906 – 25 December 1995) was a French philosopher of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry who is known for his work within Jewish philosophy, existentialism, and phenomenology, focusing on the relationship of ethics to ...
.
[ In 1996, Jędraszewski was made an associate professor in Poznań and was also made a visiting professor to the Pontifical Lateran.
John Paul II appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of Poznań on 17 May 1997, and he received his ]episcopal consecration
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
on 29 June 1997 from Juliusz Paetz. Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...
appointed him Metropolitan Archbishop of Lodz on 11 July 2012 and he was enthroned there on 8 September. Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...
appointed him Metropolitan Archbishop of Kraków to succeed Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz
Stanisław Jan Dziwisz (; born 27 April 1939) is a Polish prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Metropolitan Archbishop of Kraków from 2005 until 2016. He was created a cardinal in 2006. He was a long-time and influential aide to Pope J ...
, and he was installed there on 28 January 2017.[
He attended the ''ad limina'' visit of bishops with Pope Francis on 1 February 2014. Francis appointed him a member of the ]Congregation for Catholic Education
, type = Congregation
, seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg
, seal_size = 100px
, seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See
, logo =
, picture =Via della Conciliazione din Roma1.jpg
, picture_caption = Palazzo delle Congregazioni in Piazza ...
on 30 November 2013.
In 2013, he launched an initiative called "Dialogues in the Cathedral" that became extremely popular. People could send the archbishop an email asking about an aspect of the faith, and he would answer once a month at open meetings in the cathedral.[
]
Views
IVF treatments
When Poland's government began to subsidize ''in vitro
''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called " test-tube experiments", these studies in biology a ...
'' treatments, he said that IVF was an assault on the dignities of all people and suggested that infertile couples should resort to adoption rather than something that would go above the creative power.[
]
Abortion
Jędraszewski opposes abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...
in all circumstances and advocates "the legal protection of human life from conception to natural death".
Transgender and LGBT rights
The archbishop is a strong opponent of transgender rights
A transgender person is someone whose gender identity is inconsistent or not culturally associated with the sex they were assigned at birth and also with the gender role that is associated with that sex. They may have, or may intend to esta ...
, referring to it as the "direct path to the self-destruction of our civilization". He was speaking at an adolescent catechesis in Pabianice
Pabianice is a city in central Poland with 63,023 inhabitants (2021). Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship, it is the capital of Pabianice County. It lies about southwest of Łódź and belongs to the metropolitan area of that city. It is the ...
about the importance of accepting one's own gender when he called upon people to oppose "misanthropic egalitarianism", which he lamented has "become fashionable in recent years". Jędraszewski called "gender ideology
The anti-gender movement is an international movement which opposes what it refers to as "gender ideology", " gender theory" or "genderism". The concepts cover a variety of issues and have no coherent definition. Members of the anti-gender mov ...
" an "extremely dangerous ideology that leads directly to the death of our civilization". During a sermon on August 1, 2019, Jedraszewski called "LGBT ideology
Anti-LGBT rhetoric comprises themes, catchphrases, and slogans that have been used against homosexuality or other non-heterosexual sexual orientations in order to demean lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. They range from the ...
" a "rainbow plague" and compared it to the "red plague" of Communism.
Halloween
In 2013, the archbishop urged the faithful not to take part in the celebrations of Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observan ...
"even in playful form". He dubbed it an "anti-Christian festival", and urged both parents and teachers to protect children "against its images of terror and dread" that were the opposite of the Christian message. He issued a pastoral letter dedicated to this, and said that introducing people to Halloween "is a violation of Church teaching", while urging them to observe All Saints Day
All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are kno ...
and All Souls Day
All Souls' Day, also called ''The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed'', is a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful departed, observed by certain Christian denominations on 2 November. Through prayer, intercessions, alms and ...
.
Friendship with Pope John Paul II
Jędraszewski was a close friend of Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
. The two men became friends in 1975 when Jędraszewski was residing at the Polish College in Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
as he studied at the Pontifical Gregorian college. The then-Cardinal Karol Józef Wojtyła lived at the Polish College when in Rome and demonstrated a keen interest in its students and their studies. But Wojtyla was also fond of philosophy and found Jędraszewski's studies interesting. The two often discussed various topics and kept personal correspondence with each other when Wojtyła became pope in 1978, and this increased when Jędraszewski became a bishop.
References
External links
Catholic Hierarchy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jędraszewski, Marek
1949 births
20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Poland
Pontifical Gregorian University alumni
Archbishops of Kraków
Polish anti-same-sex-marriage activists
Living people
Clergy from Poznań
21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Poland