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P/\.STOR GENERAL'S REPORT, DECEMBER 11, 1981
PAGE 10
Italian security official investigating the attempted assassination of the
Pope is convinced, said the TIMES, "that during the time Agca was preparing
for the attack, his movements were never decided by himself but were
prompted and instructed by someone else."
The Pope's "Compelling Mission"
But why the alleged KGB assassination attempt in the first place?
The
Russians, Herr Strauss told Mr. Armstrong, now fear the Polish Pope more
than they do American missiles. And with good reason.
The Pope's electrifying visit to his homeland in the summer of 1979 fanned
Poland's national rebellion which broke out in Gdansk a year later. John
Paul II's promise of a second visit home next August has Soviet and Polish
Communist authorities wringing their hands.
According to some cardinals in the Roman Curia, the Pope has such a fixation
with events in Poland that they feel he is overlooking church concerns
elsewhere. John Paul II constantly refers to Poland in his public pro
nouncements. A special section of St. Peter's Square is roped off for the
1,500 Poles who visit the Vatican each week. A special monthly edition of
L'OSSERV.�TORE ROMANO, the semi-official Vatican newspaper, has a circula
tion of 150,000 inside Poland.
The Pope reads a number of Polish newspapers, and talks often on the phone
to Polish clergymen. Top level visits by both Solidarity and Polish gov
ernment officials are frequent. The Pope has met three times with Lech
Walesa, Solidarity union leader, and once had an unprecedented two-hour
long conference with Poland's Foreign Minister.
Little wonder that Soviet news media consider the Pope a troublesome med
dler in "their world" and continually attack him, albeit indirectly. While
the Soviets realize that the Pope is very cautious about interfering too
much in day-to-day Polish affairs, they are also aware of the Pope's long
term goals for Poland and all of Eastern Europe. Here is what the November
23, 1981 edition of NEWSWEEK had to say about this:
The Pope is enthralled by a compelling mission--he believes he has �
calling from God to unite Europe. During his first return to Poland he
declared that the Holy Spirit intended that "this Polish Pope, this
Slav Pope should at this precise moment manifest the spiritual unity
of Eastern Europe." Beyond this, John Paul seems to believe that
Poland's salvation will also bring salvation to the west. In this
spirit he has named the Slavic Saints Cyril and Methodius as the
patron saints of Europe. Addressing top European theologians on the
subject of Europe's Christian roots, the Pope summoned up two other
apocalyptic visionaries--Spengler and Dostoevski--to bear witness to
his own conviction that "the problem that assails us is really to save
Europe and the world from the final catastrophe...."
John Paul II, in political terms, is the most powerful Pope of modern times,
and no one appreciates this more than the Russians.
Little wonder that the KGB tried, in its typically devious manner, to do
away with the Polish Pope. So continue to watch the Vatican's own "Ostpoli
tik," as well as political events and personalities in West Germany leading
up to those critical 1984 elections.
--Gene H. Hogberg, News Bureau