CHRISTIAN PRIEST NOMINATED FOR NOBEL PRIZE ========================================
There is little need to introduce Father Zelazek to people familiar with the problems which afflict India's poorest citizens. The priest has lived and worked in the country for half a century. Zelazek's Indian experience started with his missionary work among the untouchable, whom Mahatma Gandhi christened "the Children of God." Jacek Wójcik, the secretary of the Nobel lobbying committee for Father Zelazek, and member of the Maitri Movement for Solidarity With the Poor of the Third World, speaks about what made this man, born near Poznan in 1918, devote his life to the "untouchable": "Father Zelazek spent World War ll at Dachau concentration camp. But he doesn't feel hatred towards his Nazi captors. Speaking about Dachau, he refers only to suffering. He doesn't mention those who caused this. While in Dachau, he came to understand what it means to be rejected and demeaned and find oneself behind barbed wire, separated by an impregnable barrier from other people. This experience contributed to his decision to devote himself to work among the poor." The priest left for India in 1950 after completing his theological studies in Rome and receiving his holy orders in 1948. He worked among the untouchable in the Indian state of Orissa for 25 years. He was a teacher, the head a junior high school, and supervised the whole network of missionary schools run by the "missionaries of the word" in one of Orissa's districts. Contrary to the teachings of the great Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian nation was not prepared to recognize the untouchable population as real partners for social dialogue. Zelazek's educational work ended in 1975. He then began a new chapter in his Indian adventure, moving to Puri on the Bay of Bengal and working with lepers. In this holy town, he set up a colony for hundreds of lepers, providing them with medical treatment, housing, food and work. The lepers partly provide for themselves, working with their families at handicraft workshops, and their children attend the school founded by Father Zelazek. There is an integrated school in Puri for children suffering from leprosy and children not affected by the disease. This makes it possible for children from families not affected with leprosy to meet sick children, make friends with them and come to accept them. At the same time, children from leper families learn to bridge social barriers. Religious barriers have not prevented the Indians from appreciating Father Zelazek's work. They have fully accepted the fact that a center, with a church, run by a Catholic priest is situated close to one of the holiest Hindu shrines. And one of the highest-ranking Hindu priests living in Puri is a frequent guest at the colony. Father Zelazek's work has aroused admiration and respect not only from the Poles making up the Nobel lobbying committee. The Nobel Committee application was also signed by members of the Indian Parliament and Indian state and local authorities. Zelazek's work has been compared with that of Mother Teresa and indeed the priest has strong ties to the Missionaries of Charity founded by Mother Teresa. The submission of Zelazek's candidacy is also an opportunity to emphasize the contribution of Poles to combating leprosy. One such figure was Father Jan Beyzym, a Polish Jesuit. At the turn of the last century, when the idea of shooting lepers was considered a viable option, he set up a colony for lepers in Madagascar and lived there with them. For many years, the lepers' center was financed by the Polish nation. Doctor Wanda Blenska of Poznan worked for 41 years for lepers in Uganda where she developed an existing leprosy center. And finally, there is Doctor Helena Pyz of Warsaw, who has worked in Central India at a leprosy center established in 1969 by the late Father Adam Wisniewski. The Polish nation has contributed considerably to financing the center. These facts are worth publicizing now that efforts are being made to secure a Nobel Peace Prize for Zelazek, a modest priest whose work has touched countless lives. Krzysztof Renik ********************* This e-mail (and any attachments) is confidential and may contain personal views which are not the views of NDTV unless specifically stated. If you have received this in error, please delete it from your system, do not use, copy or disclose the information in any way or act in reliance on it and notify the sender immediately. Please note that NDTV reserves the right to monitor e-mails, sent or received. ********************** For The Latest News From India, visit http://www.ndtv.com **************************************************************** This mail is generated from JOYnet, a Jesus Youth mailing list. 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