REAL

II. János Pál pápa első lengyelországi látogatása – a lengyel pápa a lengyel és a szovjet dokumentumok tükrében (1978─1980)

Mitrovits, Miklós (2007) II. János Pál pápa első lengyelországi látogatása – a lengyel pápa a lengyel és a szovjet dokumentumok tükrében (1978─1980). KÚT, 6 (1-2). pp. 145-163. ISSN 1589-1445

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Abstract

The first pilgrimage of Pope John Paul II in Poland. The polish Pope in the light of polish and soviet documents (1978-1980). In the first half of the study the author introduces the role that the Polish Catholic Church had in the development of the polish nation. The Catholic Church became the leader of the Polish nation in the absence of state institutes. Signs of this are to be found in the Polish mythology and in the national identity. In the second half of the 20th century, in the totalitarian system of the communism, the Catholic Church was fighting for its existence. After 1956, the Polish Catholic Church grew in a unique way and people crowded on the side of the Church against the state power. It was in the context of this that the election of Karol Wojtyla (archbishop of Krakow) for Pope of the Catholic Church became dangerous for the state power. The study analyzes in detail the events prior to the polish pilgrimage of the new Pope (July 2nd – 10th 1979). The leaders of the Soviet Union and Brezhnev tried to avoid the polish pilgrimage of the Pope, which were planed to take place on the 900 anniversary of the death of St. Stanislaw. The polish state was afraid of the international consequences and due to the bad economic situation they were also afraid of the population’s dissatisfaction. The pilgrimage of the Pope in Poland strengthened the opposition and gave self- confidence to the people that there is another way then the one the state power is offering. The Pope significantly contributed to that one year after the pilgrimage a “solidary society” was formed in Poland. These were the days of the “revolution of polish consciousness” as Norman Davies writes. In the second half of the study the author tries to reconstruct the Soviet – Vatican relationship during the period after the election of Pope John Paul II, based on documents found in Moscow archives. In the “Eastern politics” of the Vatican Poland plaid the most important role. In the same way Poland plaid the most important role for the Soviet Union in the connection with East Germany, as a part of the Warsaw’s Pact. Together with Poland the Vatican increased the influence of Catholics and uniates within the territory of the Soviet Union. The analysis also includes that the Soviet Union experienced it as positive that the polish Pope supported the arms reduction, the SALT II agreement, and that the Pope disagreed with the boycott of the Olympic games of 1980 that was to be held in Moscow. The Vatican indirectly condemned capitalism. Through the soviet documents the author introduces how the activity of the polish Pope was seen from the Kreml. Some Hungarian documents help to shed light on how the leaders of the eastern block evaluated the new situation that had been established in Europe.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion / filozófia, pszichológia, vallás > BR Christianity / kereszténység
SWORD Depositor: MTMT SWORD
Depositing User: MTMT SWORD
Date Deposited: 10 Dec 2014 13:36
Last Modified: 31 Mar 2023 09:13
URI: http://real.mtak.hu/id/eprint/19169

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