Jozef Glemp | Primate in Poland, 83

Cardinal Jozef Glemp, 83, the head of Poland's influential Roman Catholic Church from 1981 to 2004 - a time when it played a historic role in the fight against communism - died Wednesday, Jan. 23, in Warsaw after a long illness, a church spokesman said.

Cardinal Glemp was the primate for most of the papacy of the Polish-born Pope John Paul II, who was elected in 1979. The church then enjoyed huge influence in Poland, with John Paul inspiring the Solidarity movement of Lech Walesa that helped topple communism in 1989.

A key moment for Cardinal Glemp as church leader came in 1981, when communist authorities imposed martial law, aiming to crush Solidarity. At the time, some democracy activists faulted him for failing to confront the regime forcefully, but he explained that any conciliatory gestures were meant to try to prevent a bloodbath in the nation. - AP