Servant of Mary new file

religious coming from Poland whether there had been any changes for the better. Having found out that things were as they used to be, he decided to present a new memorial to the Pope. He remarked that he was not guided by any per- sonal motives but by the desire to fulfill God’s command- ment which demands the love of neighbor and the care for his salvation. He suggested that the Pope might want to issue a special letter regarding this matter, either to the Apostolic Nuncio or to the Polish bishops in all dioceses. The Pope directed the drawing up of this petition to the Cardinal Secretary of State, and obligated him to gather the necessary information through the Nuncio in Poland. Father Wyszy<ski gave the memorial to Cardinal Valenti. This memorial is now in the Vatican Archives. A copy of it was sent to the Apostolic Nuncio in Dresden, who, on February 19, 1753, wrote a letter to the Secretary of State, Cardinal Valenti : There are many and serious disorders in the Kingdom of Poland, but it has never come to my atten- tion what the memorial sent by Your Eminence concerns, namely that many parish priests do not admit the faithful to Easter confession and Holy Communion until they have worked for some time in their house, garden, or on their property. It is indeed a serious disorder but at the same time quite an unbelievable one. Nevertheless I shall try to obtain information which I will pass to Your Eminence in due time. After the matter had been investigated, it turned out that indeed there were abuses in some dioceses, particular- ly in places far away from the Bishop’s seat. The Nuncio Defender of the Peasants 56