Continuing his work

Wednesday April 3, 2008: third anniversary of the death of John Paul II. Anna Teresa Kowalewska, interviewed Msgr. Kazimierz Nycz for SIR Europe. Could we affirm, three years since the death of John Paul II, that the cult, or rather the devotion for Pope Wojtyla is increasing? “Worship of Pope John Paul II is certainly increasing also through a series of initiatives aimed at expanding the Pope’s teaching. Also devotion along with prayers for the Pope’s intercession are increasing. There are a number of similar cases. However, the fundamental question is not to develop a form of cult which is the result of an emotional attitude only. Concrete action and facts must ensue. It’s necessary to continue the work initiated by the Pope”. In 1991 Pope John Paul recalled to the Poles the 10 Commandments. How is the implementation of his Magisterium proceeding? “I think that as a Pope, John Paul II was aware that he was not proclaiming his own Magisterium but Christ’s. A proof of this is the fact that when he died the number of pilgrims to Rome didn’t decrease, but rather increased dramatically. Both the number of people received in audience as well as those attending Sunday prayers increased. There are also more pilgrims to the tomb of the Pope. I always try to remind priests: we must not overshadow Jesus but guide the faithful towards the Lord. Pope Wojtyla accomplished this task beautifully. He was the shepherd of the new evangelization and in this sense his teaching still is very up-to-date”. In particular, what does this teaching call for? “We must firstly understand whether we are capable of focusing our attention on those issues which the Pope deemed important, the moments he underlined during his Magisterium and his pilgrimages. We must establish whether we are able to learn from him to bring people close to us without judging, but preaching the love of Christ. In particular, by following the way in which he communicated to the youth, towards whom he didn’t hold a moralizing nor an indulgent attitude. The Pope had clear demands from the youth. Nonetheless they ran towards him. The Church in Poland will certainly have to study many years still to fulfill this task… I believe that his beatification could be of help”. Help… how? “His beatification or canonization will once again bring John Paul II close to the faithful, it will lead to an ever-deeper study of his teaching and prayer. Time distances people, whereas we would like the Pope to remain near us. He mustn’t be placed on a pedestal, which is far from our reach. We must make sure that he remains with us exactly as he was, taken as an example for us to follow and imitate. As a saint on earth for us who are living now”. Which are the most committing challenges for the Church in Poland? “The main commitment remains the same: proclaiming to the world the truth that Christ died and resurrected for our salvation and that each one of us must follow the same path, must carry his own cross while modern man tries to say ‘this will never happen’. The task of the Church is to show that all of this has a meaning, that our cross along with Christ’s cross – what John Paul II has taught us for the past ten years – has a meaning. This is the most important program, not only for the forthcoming ten years, but forever. We must do our utmost so that the voice which speaks of God’s compassionate love for us reaches everyone, even those who don’t go to church, who became indifferent or whose faith has weakened. This is why it’s important, through lay Catholics, to bring this truth in the working environment and to society as a whole. In order to do this we need modern media, not only television, radio or the press but also the internet. At the same time, we need to ensure that the Gospel lived and proclaimed in the sacraments is fulfilled in every day life through charity and care for the needy and the suffering. Even though unemployment has greatly decreased in large cities, up to 5%, the Church must never forget the poor and the unemployed who are often compelled to emigrate at a very high price”.