37 Beginnings: 1670-1677 in Rome by the general government.38 Fr. Stanislaus believed that the provisions of Pope Alexander VII allowed for the election of superiors within their own province. Therefore, he argued that the Provincial Chapter of the Polish Province should occur in Poland rather than Rome. He emphasized that the superior general was unfamiliar with the conditions in a particular country and did not know the people well enough to make these appointments. However, his actions in this matter faced opposition “among the older Fathers.”39 National tensions also compounded the conflict since the province, established in 1662, included two nationalities: Polish and German. In addition to Germans, it also included Slovaks, Czechs, and Hungarians, not all of whom were always on good terms with each other. A few religious, unfriendly toward Fr. Stanislaus began to falsely accuse him, misinterpreting his zeal for strict adherence to the rules of the order, as prescribed by the Founder, especially those related to poverty, silence, and the organization of the monastery. Consequently, allegations of incendiarism were brought against Fr. Stanislaus before the Piarist general, Fr. Cosmas Chiara, who summoned him to Rome.40 The news of his forced journey to Rome mobilized his friends to defend him. Before he embarked on this incredibly thorny path, he received numerous commendations and letters of recommendation from various orders and personalities.41 At that time, the Apostolic Nuncio in Poland, Cardinal Galeazzo Marescotti, after examining the matter, demanded that the Piarists themselves investigate it. An investigation was initiated, and after its conclusion, the main accuser of Fr. Stanislaus, Fr. Wacław (Wenceslaus) Opatowski, stated that Fr. Papczyński’s conduct was “was more zeal than troublemaking […], that Fr. Stanislaus neither was or actually is a troublemaker or a traitor, nor that he ever plotted against 38 Positio, Papczyński, pp. 86-143 39 S. Papczyński, Declaration of the one departing for Rome, in: Selected Writings, pp. 857-862; S. Sydry, O. Stanisław, pp. 68-60. 40 APS 10 f.121. Evidence of Father Benedykt Hoenig; f. 147, evidence of Father Cyprian Fijałkowski; Apologia for his departure from the Order of Pious Schools, nn. 1-5, in: Selected Writings, pp. 875-877; Positio, Papczyński, pp. 99-104 41 “Verum fuit, quo dum Servus Dei Stanislaus Romam vocatus iter arriperet, multi eum suis Literis commendatitijs munierunt, quas etami Epistolas originales ego Testis legi, et vidi, et quo plures homines Servum Dei noscentes summopere indolebant, cum Dei Servus Romam divertentes Eos relinqueret”, APS 10, f. 147, evidence of Father Cyprian Fijałkowski. Also see: Leporini, n. 29; Wyszyński, Stróż, p. 68; S. Sydry, O. Stanisław, pp. 61-63; Positio, Papczyński, pp. 102-104.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2Mw==