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POPE KAROL WOJTYLA (1978)

 
Jan Pawel II pope
Gierek's government was in good relations with Vatican and Polish Church. It was due to finishing the economic and social crisis and also the activity of opposition. Church in Poland was one of the most developed churches in Europe. In charge of it, there was a primate Wyszynski. However the government tried to keep the atheistic model of society. In Ministry of Internal Affairs there was a huge Department IV. Its members traced priests and bishops. They thought that the most dangerous were cardinal Karol Wojtyla and bishop Tokarczuk. On the other hand the party tried not to provoke any conflicts with Church. The bigger economic and political problems were, the better relations with Church the authority wanted to have. Then cardinal Wyszynski was the biggest moral and social authority among people.
 
Pope Jan Pawel II during
saying mass.
On October 16th 1978 Poland got unexpected but wonderful information that cardinal Karol Wojtyla had been chosen as the pope. All people had hopes that this election would break the wall, with which, since 1945, the socialistic system separated Poland from western countries. The society listened to new pope's speeches with great enthusiasm and hopes for better future.

The management of the party was compelled to express their satisfaction with the new Polish pope. The authority even agreed to the pope's visit to Poland and transmissions of his stay and some of the masses on radio and TV.
 
Pope Jan Pawel II at
Warsaw airport.
On June 2nd 1979 the pope's plane landed in Warsaw. For the Polish it started a Week of Liberty. All routes were decorated with flowers, people knelt down. They were helpful and favourably disposed towards each other. The pope desired to call out a feeling of optimism and spiritual strength in people's minds. The government wanted to diminish pope's triumph, and particularly not to show crowds of people on TV and not to publish any pictures.
 
Pope shot on May 13th in 1981 at 5.19p.m. in Vatican City.
On June 10th pope flew to Roma. People's life came back to conditions in which it had been before his pilgrimage to Poland.