Poland's president had a chance to thank Pope Benedict XVI personally
for beatifying his Polish-born predecessor, Blessed John Paul II.
Pope Benedict received Polish president Bronislaw Komorowski in an audience on Monday morning, as celebrations surrounding the May 1 beatification
drew to a close.
The president conveyed the Polish people's gratitude
to the Pope, for the decision to bestow the Church's high honor upon a
national hero.
The Pope and president discussed the historic impact of Bl. John Paul
II's life in the history of both Poland and the world at large.
The
first Polish Pope, whose words and actions helped to end Communist rule
in his own country, also visited more countries than any other Pope in
history.
Both men agreed that the newly-beatified
Pope's life marked a turning point in history, as he sought to offer
the Christian message of redemption to a troubled and increasingly
interconnected world.
President Komorowski assured Pope Benedict that Bl. John Paul II's
teachings, particularly regarding human dignity and the sanctity of
life, would remain important to the nation.
Poland re-criminalized abortion under most circumstances in 1993.
In
recent years, the country has grappled with the question of whether its
moderately strict abortion laws should become more or less restrictive,
or remain as they are.