The Polish cardinal accepted with great gratitude the invitation by Angelo Bagnasco, Cardinal and Archbishop of Genoa, to visit this Italian city for a presentation entitled “The Blessed John Paul II: a Pope and an example of our time”.
Cardinal Dziwisz described John Paul II as “a Pope of service to God and to man who shaped the face of the Church as it is today.”
John Paul II, he said, is “one of the greatest spiritual leaders of the world today.”
Cardinal Dziwizs mentioned some highlights of John Paul II’s papacy and personality, recalling his invitation to faithful “not to fear.”
John Paul II, he said, “helped Christians across the world not to be afraid to call themselves Christians, to say they belong to the Church and to announce the Gospel; he helped them not to fear the truth.”
Having experienced Nazism and communism first hand, the future Pope John Paul II “understood that all dictatorships build their power on fear and that the most powerful weapon against any dictatorship is freedom from fear through solidarity.”
The Archbishop of Krakow went on to discuss current topics, particularly in relation to his Country.
He stated that “In Poland we are still in defence mode.”
The attacks “are no longer coming from the communist dictatorship but from European culture” and “there is a danger that democracy will turn into a dictatorship” as a result of trends that are trying to impose one unique interpretation of individual rights and bioethics.