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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, JULY 8, 1983
PAGE 9
In the July 3, 1983 NEW YORK TIMES, Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, former na
tional security adviser under President Carter, analyzed both the short
term and the least-understood (by the news media} long-term objectives of
the pope.
...A more discriminating judgment of the consequences of the
visit [ of John Paul II to Poland] must take into account the
complex motives guiding the pope. The immediate political dimen
sion, !£ emphasized in the Western press, .!.! only part of the
story.
The visit was motivated by three
designed to break the political
regime of the Polish people's
liberty....
concerns: First, the visit was
stalemate, while reminding the
overwhelming desire for more
The second, longer-term objective was to consolidate the church's
victory in Poland. It was almost exactly 30 years ago that the
Communist regime in Poland imprisoned Cardinal Wyczinski, the
Polish Primate. Thirty years later, in the course of the papal
visit, the regime had to accept the reality of dual power in
Poland.-The church has-won its competition wTih Conup.unism
In
Poland.
The people are overwhelmingly religious; Communist
ideology has been thoroughly defeated. ·The papal visit not only
underlined this reality but was desi�ned to consolidate it� Such
consolidation, however, requires also com tJ romises with�
regime, which may superficially appea'r-r-n con iict with the first
objective.•.•
The third purpose of the visit is the one least understood by
Western observers--and also opposed by the bureaucratic midgets
in the Vatican Curia. The Pope's objective, of which he has
spoken openly, is of a truly historical dimensTon.
�'"Ts to
reunify . the Western ana the Eastern Catholic rites, split a � art
for a millennium. The pope views the East as being in the midst
of
a
spirltual crisis, generated by the failure of Marxist
materialism. (He also views the West as beset by the malaise of
hedonism, and also craving for renewed spiritual purpose.} In
his homilies, he clearly was projecting the vision of a more
just, spiritually-based society, responsive to the humanistic
values which the � ommunist experiment has so . degraded. The � ope
� . clearly speaking to all the Slavs who live under Communism,
reminding them of their common Christian roots. This is his most
fundamentar-a:iaTienge and without! doubt his greatestgoal.--
To understand the purport of the trip, one has to take into
account these three basic goals. He clearly succeeded in the
first and in the second, even though there may be some tactical
tension between these two goals, and . o d ly history will tell
whether he succeeds in his monumentaT"thir objective. -- ----
Perhaps Dr. Brzezinski should have said: "Bible prophecy indicates he will
succeed at his monumental third objective."