Pope names new head of Poland's Catholic Church

VATICAN CITY, Dec 6 (Reuters) Pope Benedict today named Bishop Stanislaw Wojciech Wielgus to lead Poland's Catholics as new archbishop of Warsaw, succeeding anti-communist crusader Cardinal Jozef Glemp who retired.

The appointment of Weilgus, currently bishop of Plock, marks the end of an era for Poland's powerful Catholic Church, which Glemp led for a quarter century as the Primate.

Under Glemp, the Church played a leading role in supporting the pro-democratic movement which led to the collapse of communism in Poland in 1989, part of a wave of countries which emerged from behind the Iron Curtain.

Glemp, who turns 77 this month, made headlines this year by saying Polish Pope John Paul II had been spied on inside the Vatican by priests working fir communist-era secret services.

His retirement had been expected.

REUTERS LL RAI1834