” ““He was a saint even before being the Pope”: this was stated by card. Stanislao Dziwisz, archbishop of Cracow, who for over 27 years has been Pope Wojtyla’s special secretary, in an interview that “Sulla Via di Damasco” will broadcast on Rai 2 on April 1st in an episode all centred on John Paul II, on the occasion of the 1st anniversary of his demise. The Polish Pope’s legacy, goes on card. Dziwisz, “is in our hands today, and it is a great responsibility, chiefly because people ask us to keep being in an ideal contact with John Paul II and his lesson, which is a wealth for the whole Church”. According to the cardinal, “Wojtyla was not a nationalist, but a patriot”: loving Poland “never prevented him being the Pope. His second home was Italy, he loved it with all his heart”. The archbishop of Cracow also highlighted the importance of John Paul II’s travels abroad: “He loved to repeat we could not wait for the devotees to come to Saint Peter’s Square”. “I came to Rome with him when he was a cardinal – adds Dziwisz -, today I am here in Cracow as a cardinal, but I deeply feel his ideal encouragement, without which I couldn’t do anything”. Rabbi Elio Toaff will also take part in the episode: “My relation with John Paul II went beyond friendship, it was a veritable brotherhood. With him, we moved from being wicked Judeans to being elderly brothers, and it is thanks to him that all prejudice and misunderstansing between Jews and Christians have been eradicated”.
