Second Clergyman Resigns over Communist Ties

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• RAY SUAREZ:

  The faithful came in droves yesterday to see their new archbishop of Warsaw, Stanislaw Wielgus, formally installed. Worshippers filled the pews of St. John's Cathedral, Warsaw's oldest Roman Catholic Church.

  But instead of taking part in a mass to celebrate his installation, Wielgus announced he would resign, just three weeks after news of his past collaboration with the Communist-era secret police was leaked to Polish newspapers.

• STANISLAW WIELGUS, Former Archbishop, Warsaw (through translator):

  I am placing into your hands my resignation from the Archbishop Order in Warsaw.

• RAY SUAREZ:

  His announcement was greeted with both shock and applause, including that from President Lech Kaczynski, whose conservative Law and Justice Party has worked to eliminate the vestiges of Communist influence.

  In recent days, Wielgus admitted he met with secret police in the past. Polish newspapers reported he signed documents promising to spy for secret police, which he's denying.

  The Vatican initially supported his elevation, but yesterday a spokesman released a statement on the radio saying, "The attitude of Archbishop Wielgus during the past years of the Communist regime hurt his authority. The resignation from the service in Warsaw and its fast acceptance by the Holy Father seemed the right solution."

  The archbishop of Warsaw is one of the most powerful clerics in a country that is 90 percent Roman Catholic. For decades, the Roman Catholic Church in Poland was known for its public opposition to Communism.

  With visits to his native Poland before the fall of Communism, Pope John Paul II supported the Solidarity movement and encouraged a budding democracy.

  There was also more fallout today when the Reverend Janusz Bielanski, seen here in May with Pope Benedict XVI, quit, amid similar charges that he, too, had ties to Communist authorities.