Clash Between Clergy and Yard Workers

A few months ago, the Solidarity Trade Union activists came up with the idea of naming the Gdansk shipyard after John Paul II, as he was instrumental in the overthrow of communism. Yet top authorities in the clergy refuse to grant their consent.

Under the initiative of the workers. representatives of the Solidarity Trade Union met with Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, the metropolitan of Cracow and the former secretary of John Paul II, to ask his permission. Much to their dismay and disappointment, cardinal Dziwisz did not grant his consent.

Soon after, a declaration was issued by the clergy stating that naming the Gdansk Yard after John Paul II is impossible, reasoning that the economic activity of the shipyard is irreconcilable with the timeless symbols of the former pope.

In spite of their disappointment, the yard workers refuse to give up. They intend to continue to fight for their intiative and plan to ask the clergy to reconsider their viewpoints. In the meantime, a monument of John Paul II is to be unveiled in the front of the Gdansk Yard next year.