Fr. Isakowicz-Zaleski awarded posthumously? This is what the All-Polish Youth wants
All-Polish Youth posted a letter to President Andrzej Duda online. He wants to posthumously award Fr. Isakowicz-Zaleski the Order of the White Eagle.
“On behalf of many citizens who admire and appreciate the invaluable contribution to the history of our country made by the late priest Tadeusz Isakowicz-Zaleski, we appeal for awarding him the Order of the White Eagle,” we read in a letter posted on the organization’s website.
The All-Polish Youth argues that the priest was “a steadfast priest, a social activist and a defender of historical truth and the good name of the Church” who “was not afraid to speak out for our compatriots in the Borderlands.”
Order of the White Eagle for Fr. Isakowicz-Zaleski. “Moral Authority”
The authors of the letter wrote that “his life mission, dedication to the common good, as well as his constant pursuit of justice have made Father Isakowicz-Zaleski one of the most important figures of our times,” and the priest has become a moral authority for many people.
All-Polish Youth recalled the priest’s involvement in restoring the memory of the genocide in Volhynia and his efforts to ensure a dignified burial of the Poles murdered there.
“In 2008, he appealed for the Polish authorities to condemn the genocide of Poles committed by the OUN-UPA in Volhynia and Eastern Lesser Poland. He was also the president of the Kresowa Foundation “Memoria et Veritas”, which he founded and the organizer of annual school competitions for knowledge about the Borderlands, and the chairman of the honorary committee for the construction of the “Volhynia Massacre” monument, sculpted by prof. Andrzej Pityński, in the village of Domostawa in the Jarocin commune in Podkarpacie. He also supported the campaign of the “Community and Memory” Association under the slogan “Volhynia to Powązki”. He fought to call genocide by its name, without euphemisms and half-truths. He noticed that the topic of the Volhynian genocide was being ignored and no real action was being taken. He protested against the glorification of criminals” – the arguments of the authors of the letter, who signed themselves as “concerned Poles”.
“We fully believe that this symbolic gesture is a well-deserved form of honoring this unique figure who will leave a lasting mark on the history of Poland forever,” they added.
The Order of the White Eagle is the highest order of the Republic of Poland, established in 1705 and reactivated in 1921. It is awarded to the most outstanding Poles and the highest-ranking representatives of foreign countries.
