Forgive and Forget? What Should Be the Fate of the Terror-States Apparatchiks?

"That unforgettable scene in Warsaw cathedral illuminates, like a medieval morality play, the dilemmas with which half of Europe has been wrestling ever since the end of communism. To remember or forget? To open the files or leave them under lock and key? To purge or not to purge? Some would argue that this case shows, once again, how dangerous it is to open Pandora's box. How much better to let bygones be bygones, as Spain did after Franco? I think the opposite is true. The Wielgus affair perfectly illustrates the importance of a timely, scrupulous, fair and comprehensive uncovering of the dictatorial past, in all its complexity. After all, the truth will out in the end. Would it have been better if, 50 years from now, Polish Catholics had discovered from the long-sealed archives that their beloved archbishop - subsequently perhaps primate and, who knows, even second Polish pope - had been supping with the communist devil?"