Poland : A life with Karol
Such is the title of a book, published in Italy by Rizzoli on January 24, by Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, archbishop of Krakow and former private secretary to John Paul II. It will be released in Poland on January 29. It is made up of a series of interviews with the Italian journalist, Gian Franco Svidercoschi.
On the occasion of its release, the cardinal, who had been close to the deceased pope since their first meeting in communist Poland in 1966, talked about the Polish Church and John Paul II, who was the “bugbear” of the communist regime. When Mgr. Wojtyla was archbishop of Krakow, from 1964 to 1978, he said “the entire building of the archbishopric, including the cardinal’s bedroom, his office, the dining room, the drawing room, was bugged from floor to ceiling.” Consequently, explained Mgr. Dziwisz, “he used to speak in a very loud voice” so that the communists would hear what he wanted them to know”. But when it was a matter of delicate meetings, he left the building.
And if the case of Archbishop Wielgus has revealed “the weaknesses” of the Polish churchmen, he continued, “we must also have the courage to say that the Church never yielded in the face of repression, she was always faithful to her mission.” “In the Church, as elsewhere, there are people, men, women, priests and bishops who are weaker. The sinner does not shock me.”
Cardinal Dziwisz has written to all the priests of his diocese, inviting them to come and talk to him, if they had a weight on their conscience for having collaborated: “We will study the question together and we will resolve it”. Furthermore, the cardinal thinks it necessary to explain, especially to the young, the context of that era, namely, “how we lived, suffered, bore witness to our faith with pride, courage and enormous sacrifice.”