John Paul's private secretary

[Noel's angel]

Thought this was quite interesting:


KRAKOW, Poland (AP) - John Paul II's longtime private secretary defended on Wednesday his decision not to burn the pope's papers as the pontiff's will instructed, saying the pope had given him a ``free hand'' in dealing with the materials.

Polish-born Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, 66, told reporters at his first news conference since being appointed archbishop of Krakow he was excited by the chance to serve in the late pontiff's former diocese.

Dziwisz, who served as John Paul's personal secretary at the Vatican for almost 27 years, recently admitted he had not burned any of John Paul's personal notes although the pope's will expressly stated Dziwisz should burn them.

``The Holy Father gave me an absolutely free hand on the matter,'' Dziwisz said. ``It is my responsibility what to keep. And I absolutely don't see that anything should be burned, destroyed,'' he said. ``I think this belongs to the Church, to the society and to the general culture.''

Dziwisz, who only answered three questions at the news conference, did not explain the circumstances under which John Paul had conveyed to him the change of his will regarding the burning of his notes.

Dziwisz arrived Tuesday for an unofficial visit to his homeland, ahead of officially taking up his new post on Aug. 27.

John Paul suggested Dziwisz be appointed Archbishop of Krakow, a position he had held before he was appointed pope in 1978. John Paul made the suggestion during a meeting with Dziwisz's predecessor, Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, 78, who had asked to retire.

``A bishop must serve. That's why I would like to serve the whole society and especially my diocese, entrusted to me by Holy Father Benedict XVI,'' Dziwisz told reporters.

``I treat this visit as a pilgrimage, to meet my flock,'' he said.

Last month, Pope Benedict XVI announced he was lifting a five-year waiting period to start the process to beatify John Paul, the last formal step before the late pontiff could be made a saint.

Dziwisz said he could not confirm the beatification process would start on June 28.

``We would all like this beatification, canonization to take place quickly, but ... it takes time,'' he said.

On Saturday, Dziwisz suggested some of the notes he was refusing to burn could prove useful in the beatification process.

[thessalonian]

I think he is making a mistake and should have honored the request, hard as that might have been to do.

Blessings

[jezic]

maybe

time will tell. However, we cannot change past. We must only pray that good come of this.

[Noel's angel]

But still, its a bit rude to go against his wishes don't you think. He made it clear that he wanted them burned

[jezic]

maybe. But we cannot judge the actions of anyone, much less someone who we know very little about. If he has a valid reason for saving them, would it not be wrong to burn them?

[Noel's angel]

and go against the wishes of John Paul????

[Noel's angel]

I'm not judging him-I'm just saying that if someone asked me to do something like that after they died, I would try my best to do it, even if I thought it wasn't the best thing to do

[jezic]

nm, you answered it.

I do believe it would be better to follow his wishes.

part of the deal would also deal with wether it was ordered in obedience or just suggested.

Edited June 9, 2005 by jezic

[Good Friday]

Actually, this is more than a little bit rude, and yes, we can objectively judge it. With all due respect to His Excellency, various examination of conscience materials list failure to honor the wishes of the dead as laid out in their will among the mortal sins against the fourth commandment.

I agree that Pope John Paul II's writings are important, but it's not for us to decide if they're too important to destroy. He decided that and told his secretary and the College of Cardinals to burn his personal papers. They have not; and frankly, Pope Benedict XVI should order it done. It is what his predecessor wanted, his predecessor probably had a very good reason for it, and the Church teaches us to honor the last will and testament of the departed.

[Noel's angel]

jezic, I'm not judging him and saying tat he's a horrid person or anything, I'm just saying that I think he should have respected JP's wishes

[Aloysius]

I agree with GF, this is borderline mortal sin on the part of the secretary

[Guest Eremite]

Archbishop Dzsiwz was a dear friend of John Paul the Great. I trust him to know whether or not his old buddy would have been offended by this.

[Lil Red]

i also think that there's probably already plenty of writings that JP2 [u]did[/u] leave that would help point to his sainthood cause. i think it is wrong to not respect JP2's wishes on this.

[MilesChristi]

I am rather conflicted about the situation. On the one hand, it is very important to respect and honor the wishes of the dead if possible. On the other hand, these papers may contain a spiritual masterpiece which the Archbishop feels could edify and sanctify people around the entire world.

The situation here is similar to that of the ancient poet Virgil. Upon his death, he ordered that his manuscripts were to be burned. His friends felt that they could not destroy such masterful art. As a result of their action, we have [i]The Aeneid[/i] among the canon of great epic poetry today.

I'm not passing judgement either way, since I'm still unsure about how all this is being handled.

[iggy]

If I am not mistaken, this is the same thing that happend to St. Therese of Lisieux. She told her spiritual director to burn all of her letters and a book was made and distributed to help the masses.

I think it is no big deal if the papers don't get burnt. I honestly would be more surprised by their distruction than I am about them being kept.