[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 167 (Tuesday, November 18, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H11469-H11477]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
URGING THE PRESIDENT TO PRESENT THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM TO
HIS HOLINESS, POPE JOHN PAUL II
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree
to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res 313) to urge the President,
on behalf of the United States, to present the Presidential Medal of
Freedom to His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, in recognition of his
significant, enduring, and historic contributions to the causes of
freedom, human dignity, and peace and to commemorate the Silver Jubilee
of His Holiness' inauguration of his ministry as Bishop of Rome and
Supreme Pastor of the Catholic Church.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Con. Res. 313
Whereas His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, was born Karol
Jozef Wojtyla in Wadowice, Poland, on May 18, 1920, the
youngest of 3 children, born to Karol Wojtyla and Emilia
Kaczorowska;
Whereas Pope John Paul II personally suffered and
experienced deprivation from an early age, losing his mother,
eldest brother, and father before turning age 21;
Whereas Pope John Paul II found comfort and strength in the
example of his father's faith, who he observed ``after my
mother's death, his life became one of constant prayer.
Sometimes I would wake up during the night and find my father
on his knees . . . his example was in a way my first
seminary'';
Whereas Pope John Paul II was enrolled in Jagiellonian
University in Cracow in 1939, which was closed by the Nazis
during their occupation of Poland;
Whereas Pope John Paul II experienced the brutishness of a
godless totalitarian regime, which sought to eradicate the
history and culture of a proud people and sent many of his
professors, friends, and millions of Polish Jews to camps
where they were systematically murdered;
Whereas Pope John Paul II was himself arrested by Nazi
occupation forces in 1942, but his life was spared because of
his employment at a limestone quarry, work deemed essential
to the war effort;
Whereas Pope John Paul II courageously defied the Nazi
occupation forces, risking his own life to protect Polish
Jews from persecution, helping to organize the underground
``Rhapsodic Theatre'', which he intended to be ``a theatre .
. . where the national spirit will burn'', writing two
religious plays considered subversive to the Nazi regime, and
enrolling in the clandestine seminary of Archbishop Sapieha
of Cracow, where he studied religion, theology, and
philosophy;
Whereas the Nazi occupation of Poland was ended only by the
imposition of a communist era of occupation that sought to
subjugate Polish citizens, extinguish Polish nationalism, and
subjected the exercise of individual religious liberty to the
control of godless Stalinist rulers;
Whereas Pope John Paul II was ordained in 1946, later
becoming a Professor of Ethics and Chaplain at the Catholic
University of Lublin, the only Catholic university behind the
Iron Curtain, where he, again at great personal risk,
initiated activities that helped to preserve the
intellectual, cultural, and historical richness of his
homeland and protected the integrity and independence of the
Catholic Church in Poland;
Whereas Pope John Paul II was an articulate and outspoken
advocate for religious freedom and Christian humanism at
Vatican Council II, asserting that the Church could not claim
religious liberty for itself unless it was willing to concede
it to others;
Whereas Pope John Paul II, upon returning to his homeland,
frequently cited the Council's declaration that religious
freedom was ``the first of human rights'', a phrase embraced
by Polish Catholics in their struggle against the hegemony of
the communist regime;
Whereas Pope John Paul II, on October 16, 1978, was elected
the 264th Pope, making history by becoming the first-ever
Slavic Pope and the first non-Italian Pope in more than 400
years;
Whereas October 22, 2003, marked the Silver Jubilee of His
Holiness' inauguration of his ministry as Bishop of Rome and
Supreme Pastor of the Catholic Church, signifying Pope John
Paul II's completion of 25 years as the spiritual leader of
more than 1,000,000,000 Catholic Christians around the world,
including more than 66,000,000 Catholic Christians in the
United States;
Whereas Pope John Paul II was a unique, substantial, and
historic catalyst in the demise of Soviet communism and the
emancipation of hundreds of millions of people from
totalitarian rule;
Whereas Pope John Paul II, in his inaugural sermon, boldly
offered hope to oppressed peoples around the world while
causing authoritarian rulers to brace by proclaiming ``open
the boundaries of states, economic and political systems, the
vast fields of culture, civilization and development. Do not
be afraid.'';
Whereas Pope John Paul II returned to his native Poland for
9 days in June 1979, unleashing patriotic and religious
forces that would ultimately lead to the peaceful toppling of
the communist regime in Poland and the dramatic demise of the
Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union;
Whereas Pope John Paul II, before visiting his native
Poland in 1987, met with President Ronald Reagan, who
recognized the fruits of His Holiness' labors by stating ``be
assured that the hearts of the American people are with you.
Our prayers will go with you in profound hope that the
terrible burden of brave people everywhere who yearn for
freedom, even as all men and women yearn for the freedom that
God gave us all. . . . We see
[[Page H11470]]
the power of the spiritual force in that troubled land,
uniting a people in hope, just as we see the powerful
stirrings in the East of a belief that will not die despite
generations of oppression. . . . For despite all the attempts
to extinguish it, the people's faith burns with a passionate
heat: once allowed to breathe free, that faith will burn so
brightly it will light the world.'';
Whereas Pope John Paul II was recognized by Lady Margaret
Thatcher to have ``provided the main impetus for the revival
of Solidarity and the pressure for reform [in his native
Poland]'';
Whereas Pope John Paul II was acknowledged by Mikhail
Gorbachev to have played an essential role in the liberation
of those who lived under European communism when he stated
``everything that happened in Eastern Europe . . . would have
been impossible without this pope'';
Whereas Pope John Paul II carried on an active
correspondence with world leaders during the 1980's,
involving the Church in efforts to promote peace by reducing
tensions, and exerting his moral authority to persuade the
superpowers to engage in a ``dialogue'' that succeeded in
reducing conventional and nuclear weapons and helped to avert
a nuclear war;
Whereas Pope John Paul II has used public and private
diplomacy and the power of moral suasion to encourage world
leaders to respect the inalienable rights of the human
person;
Whereas Pope John Paul II, on May 13, 1981, was shot by a
would-be assassin, and nevertheless provided a remarkable
example of the power of grace, later visiting his attacker in
prison, and stating afterwards ``I spoke to him as I would
speak to a brother whom I have forgiven and who enjoys my
confidence'';
Whereas Pope John Paul II has ministered to Catholic and
non-Catholic alike, providing a personal example of grace,
endurance, compassion, courage, sacrifice, and foresight;
Whereas Pope John Paul II has sought to heal divisions
between the Catholic Church and other Christian faiths, the
Jewish faith, and Islam, expressing sadness and regret for
the individual acts of present and former Catholics who
persecuted members of other faiths, and promoting
reconciliation and dialogue through the first-ever Papal
visits to synagogues and mosques, as well as visits to areas
of historic conflict, including Ireland and the Holy Land;
Whereas Pope John Paul II visited Cuba to speak directly to
the Cuban people and their communist rulers in 1998, calling
for political and religious freedom, the release of political
prisoners, a recognition of the right to express one's faith
``in the context of public life'', and the importance of
fundamental human dignities, including that ``each person
enjoying freedom of expression, being free to undertake
initiatives and make proposals within civil society, and
enjoying appropriate freedom of association'' is a necessity;
Whereas Pope John Paul II has traveled farther than any
other Pope in history, traversing nearly three quarters of a
million miles, visiting more than 125 countries, including
African nations never before visited by a Pope, being seen by
more people than anyone in human history, and evangelizing to
more than 6,000,000 people in the closing mass of World Youth
Day '95 in the Philippines;
Whereas Pope John Paul II has changed the course of
history, leading the Catholic Church through a dramatic and
remarkable period, and into Christianity's third millennium;
Whereas Pope John Paul II has devoted his life to the
amelioration of the human cost of terror and oppression
through his dedication to truth, forgiveness, and the
development of a vibrant public moral culture;
Whereas Pope John Paul II has articulated the importance of
individual liberty being undergirded by a ``moral order'',
has embraced the poor and oppressed masses of the world, and
encouraged governments and the faithful to attend to the
needs of those who are less fortunate;
Whereas Pope John Paul II has brought hope and inspiration
to hundreds of millions of people around the world oppressed
by tyranny, hunger, disease, and despair;
Whereas Pope John Paul II has worked tirelessly to bring
peace to regions of the world that have been driven by
strife, intolerance, hatred, and violence for far too long;
and
Whereas the Presidential Medal of Freedom is considered the
highest civilian award of the United States Government: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That the Congress urges the President, on behalf
of the United States, to present the Presidential Medal of
Freedom to His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, in recognition of
his significant, enduring, and historic contributions to the
causes of freedom, human dignity, and peace and to
commemorate the Silver Jubilee of His Holiness' inauguration
of his ministry as Bishop of Rome and Supreme Pastor of the
Catholic Church.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen).
{time} 2000
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 313, a
resolution that urges the President on behalf of the United States to
present the Presidential Medal of Honor to his Holiness, Pope John Paul
II.
Pope John Paul II has been the Supreme Pastor of the Catholic Church
for 25 years and the spiritual leader to over one billion Catholic
Christians all over the world including 66 million Catholic Christians
in the United States alone. During this time he has been to more than
125 countries and traveled farther than any other Pope in history to
advance the cause of the oppressed and the poor masses of the world, as
well as to bring peace to all regions of the world. It is with great
humility and great pride that I speak tonight in favor of this
resolution that honors one of the greatest human rights advocates of
our time.
Today my colleagues and I will be voting on a bill that will present
this honor to Pope John Paul II in recognition of his profound
contributions to the causes of human dignity, unity, peace and freedom.
Since his historic election to his position in October of 1978 as the
first Polish Pope, he has been a model of courage in the defense of the
downtrodden, the oppressed, and the most persecuted and defenseless.
Pope John Paul II has stated throughout his life that it is possible
to change the course of events once good will, trust in others, and
cooperation between responsible partners are allowed to prevail.
Throughout his tenure, he has empowered many under communist rule by
strengthening them spiritually and implanting his message to not be
afraid. He has seen the unification of a once-divided Europe. He has
called world leaders onto a higher level of accountability as he worked
to provide solutions to the various problems which they faced. It is
the Holy Father's belief that all people together, Jews, Christians,
Muslim, Israelis, Arabs, believers and nonbelievers, must create and
reinforce peace; and he has worked to make this ideal a reality.
As an ardent advocate of human rights for all, especially those
suffering political and religious persecution, I join our Holy Father
in his desire to see a world where all may live and work together in a
spirit of peace, mutual respect, and solidarity and where the sanctity
of human life is preserved on all levels.
I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking Pope John Paul II for his
love and dedication to all people of the world and urge my colleagues
to vote in favor of House Concurrent Resolution 313.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, despite failing health, Pope John Paul II has continued
to travel around the world promoting the cause of peace. He has made
over 102 journeys outside Italy to 123 countries and territories to
spread peace and God's word. He has used his moral authority to
challenge dictators in his fight for human rights and dignity.
Pope John Paul II has been one of the most significant figures of the
20th century. Until John Paul II, most Popes confined themselves to
Rome and the surrounding area. They were often distant and
unapproachable. But John Paul has revolutionized the papacy. The Pope
is conservative and is a champion of long-standing Church traditions.
He is also the most traveled Pope in history and a man of the world. He
has brought much attention to his role of helping and encouraging the
Church around the world.
John Paul was instrumental in the fall of communism in Eastern Europe
for support for the Solidarity movement in Poland where he is a
national hero. With the collapse of the Soviet Empire and the
subsequent visit of former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to Rome, the
papacy reached a height of moral and political influence in the world.
He has used that influence to further the cause of human rights so that
people have the right not
[[Page H11471]]
to be fearful, the right to be able to work and to practice their
faith.
This resolution urges the President to present the Presidential Medal
of Freedom to Pope John Paul II for his contributions to the cause of
freedom, human dignity and peace. He is certainly deserving of such an
honor, and I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from the State of Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner), the
sponsor of this important resolution.
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Florida
(Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) for yielding me time.
I rise to pay tribute to His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, who in
October marked his 25th year as bishop of Rome and Supreme Pastor of
the Catholic Church.
I also wish to offer my sincere appreciation to all my friends and
colleagues in the House who have joined together to urge the President
to present the Medal of Freedom to Pope John Paul II.
The celebration of the Silver Jubilee of Pope John Paul II
pontificate is but the latest in the series of remarkable milestones
that have characterized his life and his ministry.
From his birth on May 18, 1920, Karol Jozef Wojtyla's life has been
intertwined with the fate of his native Poland and synonymous with the
struggle for his individual freedom and dignity.
In 1978 when then-Cardinal Wojtyla, the Archbishop of Krakow, was
elected Pope, the world was such a different place. For more than 3
decades since Winston Churchill delivered his famous ``Iron Curtain''
speech, people around the world prepared for what many regarded as the
inevitable new war that would someday engulf the East and the West. To
win the Cold War, geopolitical strategists honed and implemented
various policies including the doctrines of attainment and mutual-
assured destruction.
At this pivotal moment in history when the status quo included the
subjugation of half the populations of Europe and the omnipresent
threat of nuclear annihilation, a remarkable and energetic new Pope set
foot on the world stage. To many in the West, this new Polish Pope was
an unknown entity. While we recognized immediately his energy, courage
and leadership, these same qualities were reviewed with suspicion by
some in the East, particularly the communist rulers in Poland.
Pope John Paul II's commitment to freedom, his affection for his
native Poland, and the devotion of his countrymen to him were never
more evident than the summer of 1980. That August, the Solidarity
Workers Union, which Cardinal Wojtyla had nurtured and protected,
organized a peaceful strike at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk.
With the Pope's portrait suddenly appearing everywhere and the
admonition from his inaugural sermon, ``Do not be afraid,'' on the lips
of the workers, his support and reassurance provided vital sustenance
for the strikers and ignited a spiritual spark in their struggle to
secure dignity and freedom. Ultimately, that spark would lead to the
demise of Soviet communism and the liberation of hundreds of millions
in Eastern and Central Europe. History has recorded the remarkable
achievement of Pope John Paul II and his relentless advocacy in pursuit
of individual dignity, freedom, and peace.
The Pope has not confined his efforts solely to the struggle against
totalitarianism. He has engaged wherever people are downtrodden and
oppressed.
Mr. Speaker, the Congress should pass House Concurrent Resolution 313
and urge the President to present the Medal of Freedom, our Nation's
highest civilian award, to His Holiness.
In authorizing the first Medals of Freedom in 1963, President Kennedy
proclaimed that persons who have made especially meritorious
contributions to the security or national interests of the United
States, world peace or cultural or other significant public or private
endeavors should be so recognized. By any measure it is apparent that
there is no individual more deserving of this recognition than Pope
John Paul II.
Two other recipients of the Medal of Freedom, President Ronald Reagan
and Lady Margaret Thatcher, shared the Pope's commitment to Solidarity
in the 1980s. In my estimation, their leadership changed the course of
human history. In 1984, while welcoming the Pope to the United States,
President Reagan spoke of the connection between freedom, the founding
of our own Nation, and America's debt to His Holiness.
President Reagan stated, ``I can assure you, Your Holiness, that the
American people seek to act as a force for peace in the world and to
further the cause of human freedom and dignity. Indeed, in appreciation
for the unalienable rights of every human being is the very concept
that gave birth to this Nation. Few have understood better than our
Nation's founding fathers that claims of human dignity transcend the
claims of any government, and this transcendent right itself has a
transcendent source.''
The President went on to state, ``To us, Your Holiness, the Holy See
and your pastorate represent one of humanity's greatest moral and
spiritual forces,'' and ``your words, your prayers and your example
have made you, for those who suffer oppression or the violence of war,
a source of solace, inspiration and hope.''
It is no exaggeration to recognize that this remarkable man has
brought hope, comfort and faith to literally billions of people around
the world during the course of his ministry.
Three weeks ago today I was honored to be joined by 30 Members of the
House in introducing this resolution. Since that time we have gained
additional support for which I am grateful, and I particularly
appreciate the work of the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) and
the Committee on Government Reform who reported our resolution to the
floor in such a timely manner.
As stated previously, our bipartisan resolution calls upon the
President on behalf of all the people of the United States to present
the Medal of Freedom to Pope John Paul II as a sign of our gratitude
for his significant, enduring, and historic contributions to the causes
of freedom, human dignity, and peace. We urge the President to do so
without delay.
Finally, I include an article by Carl Bernstein entitled ``The Holy
Alliance,'' which appeared in the February 24, 1992, edition of Time,
as well as an article by Father Robert A. Sirico entitled ``The Cold
War's Magnificent Seven; Pope John Paul II; Awakener of the East,''
which was published in the winter 1992 edition of Policy Review.
In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would invoke President Reagan once more.
When asked his assessment of the Pope before meeting him the first
time, the President replied, ``He is an example of what so many people
have always said about Christian and Judaic tradition, and that is,
when really needed, God provides a man. And I think in Pope John Paul
he did just that.''
Billions around the world are thankful that God has provided such a
man.
The articles referred to are as follows:
[From Time Magazine, Feb. 24, 1992]
The Holy Alliance
(By Carl Bernstein)
Only President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II were
present in the Vatican Library on Monday, June 7, 1982. It
was the first time the two had met, and they talked for 50
minutes. In the same wing of the papal apartments, Agostino
Cardinal Casaroli and Archbishop Achille Silvestrini met with
Secretary of State Alexander Haig and Judge William Clark,
Reagan's National Security Adviser. Most of their discussion
focused on Israel's invasion of Lebanon, then in its second
day; Haig told them Prime Minister Menachem Begin had assured
him that the invasion would not go farther than 25 miles
inside Lebanon.
But Reagan and the Pope spent only a few minutes reviewing
events in the Middle East. Instead they remained focused on a
subject much closer to their heart: Poland and the Soviet
dominance of Eastern Europe. In that meeting, Reagan and the
Pope agreed to undertake a clandestine campaign to hasten the
dissolution of the communist empire. Declares Richard Allen,
Reagan's first National Security Adviser: ``This was one of
the great secret alliances of all time.''
The operation was focused on Poland, the most populous of
the Soviet satellites in Eastern Europe and the birthplace of
John Paul II. Both the Pope and the President were convinced
that Poland could be broken out of the Soviet orbit if the
Vatican and the
[[Page H11472]]
U.S. committed their resources to destabilizing the Polish
government and keeping the outlawed Solidarity movement alive
after the declaration of martial law in 1981.
Until Solidarity's legal status was restored in 1989 it
flourished underground, supplied, nurtured and advised
largely by the network established under the auspices of
Reagan and John Paul II. Tons of equipment--fax machines (the
first in Poland), printing presses, transmitters, telephones,
shortwave radios, video cameras, photocopiers, telex
machines, computers, word processors--were smuggled into
Poland via channels established by priests and American
agents and representatives of the AFL-CIO and European labor
movements. Money for the banned union came from CIA funds,
the National Endowment for Democracy, secret accounts in the
Vatican and Western trade unions.
Lech Walesa and other leaders of Solidarity received
strategic advice--often conveyed by priests or American and
European labor experts working undercover in Poland--that
reflected the thinking of the Vatican and the Reagan
Administration. As the effectiveness of the resistance grew,
the stream of information to the West about the internal
decisions of the Polish government and the contents of
Warsaw's communications with Moscow became a flood. The
details came not only from priests but also from spies within
the Polish government.
down with yalta
According to aides who shared their leaders' view of the
world, Reagan and John Paul II refused to accept a
fundamental political fact of their lifetimes: the division
of Europe as mandated at Yalta and the communist dominance of
Eastern Europe. A free, noncommunist Poland, they were
convinced, would be a dagger to the heart of the Soviet
empire; and if Poland became democratic, other East European
states would follow.
``We both felt that a great mistake had been made at Yalta
and something should be done,'' Reagan says today.
``Solidarity was the very weapon for bringing this about,
because it was an organization of the laborers of Poland.''
Nothing quite like Solidarity had ever existed in Eastern
Europe, Reagan notes, adding that the workers' union ``was
contrary to anything the Soviets would want or the communists
[in Poland] would want.''
According to Solidarity leaders, Walesa and his lieutenants
were aware that both Reagan and John Paul II were committed
to Solidarity's survival, but they could only guess at the
extent of the collaboration. ``Officially I didn't know the
church was working with the U.S.,'' says Wojciech Adamiecki,
the organizer and editor of underground Solidarity newspapers
and now a counselor at the Polish embassy in Washington. ``We
were told the Pope had warned the Soviets that if they
entered Poland he would fly to Poland and stay with the
Polish people. The church was of primary assistance. It was
half open, half secret. Open as far as humanitarian aid--
food, money, medicine, doctors' consultations held in
churches, for instance--and secret as far as supporting
political activities: distributing printing machines of all
kinds, giving us a place for underground meetings, organizing
special demonstrations.''
At their first meeting, Reagan and John Paul II discussed
something else they had in common: both had survived
assassination attempts only six weeks apart in 1981, and both
believed God had saved them for a special mission. ``A close
friend of Ronald Reagan's told me the President said, `Look
how the evil forces were put in our way and how Providence
intervened,' '' says Pio Cardinal Laghi, the former apostolic
delegate to Washington. According to National Security
Adviser Clark, the Pope and Reagan referred to the
``miraculous'' fact that they had survived. Clark said the
men shared ``a unity of spiritual view and a unity of vision
on the Soviet empire: that right or correctness would
ultimately prevail in the divine plan.''
``Reagan came in with very simple and strongly held
views,'' says Admiral Bobby Inman, former deputy director of
the CIA. ``It is a valid point of view that he saw the
collapse [of communism] coming and he pushed it--hard.''
During the first half of 1982, a five-part strategy emerged
that was aimed at bringing about the collapse of the Soviet
economy, fraying the ties that bound the U.S.S.R. to its
client states in the Warsaw Pact and forcing reform inside
the Soviet empire. Elements of that strategy included:
The U.S. defense buildup already under way, aimed at making
it too costly for the Soviets to compete militarily with the
U.S. Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative--Star Wars--became
a centerpiece of the strategy.
Covert operations aimed at encouraging reform movements in
Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland.
Financial aid to Warsaw Pact nations calibrated to their
willingness to protect human rights and undertake political
and free-market reforms.
Economic isolation of the Soviet Union and the withholding
of Western and Japanese technology from Moscow. The
Administration focused on denying the U.S.S.R. what it had
hoped would be its principal source of hard currency in the
21st century: profits from a transcontinental pipeline to
supply natural gas to Western Europe. The 3,600-mile-long
pipeline, stretching from Siberia to France, opened on time
on Jan. 1, 1984, but on a far smaller scale than the Soviets
had hoped.
Increased use of Radio Liberty, Voice of America and Radio
Free Europe to transmit the Administration's messages to the
people of Eastern Europe.
Yet in 1982 neither Reagan nor the Pope could anticipate
the accession of a Soviet leader like Mikhail Gorbachev, the
father of glasnost and perestroika; his efforts at reform
unleashed powerful forces that spun out of his control and
led to the breakup of the Soviet Union. The Washington-
Vatican alliance ``didn't cause the fall of communism,''
observes a U.S. official familiar with the details of the
plot to keep Solidarity alive. ``Like all great and lucky
leaders, the Pope and the President exploited the forces of
history to their own ends.''
the crackdown
The campaign by Washington and the Vatican to keep
Solidarity alive began immediately after General Wojciech
Jaruzelski declared martial law on Dec. 13, 1981. In those
dark hours, Poland's communications with the noncommunist
world were cut; 6,000 leaders of Solidarity were detained;
hundreds were charged with treason, subversion and
counterrevolution; nine were killed; and the union was
banned. But thousands of others went into hiding, many
seeking protection in churches, rectories and with priests.
Authorities took Walesa into custody and interned him in a
remote hunting lodge.
Shortly after Polish security forces moved into the
streets, Reagan called the Pope for his advice. At a service
of meetings over the next few days, Reagan discussed his
options. ``We had a massive row in the Cabinet and the
National Security Council about putting together a menu of
counteractions,'' former Secretary of State Haig recalls.
``They ranged from sanctions that would have been crushing in
their impact on Poland to talking so tough that we would have
risked creating another situation like Hungary in '56 or
Czechoslovakia in '68.''
Haig dispatched Ambassador at Large Vernon Walters, a
devout Roman Catholic, to meet with John Paul II. Walters
arrived in Rome soon after, and met separately with the Pope
and with Cardinal Casaroli, the Vatican secretary of state.
Both sides agreed that Solidarity's flame must not be
extinguished, that the Soviets must become the focus of an
international campaign of isolation, and that the Polish
government must be subjected to moral and limited economic
pressure.
According to U.S. intelligence sources, the Pope had
already advised Walcsa through church channels to keep his
movement operating underground, and to pass the word to
Solidarity's 10 million members not to go into the streets
and risk provoking Warsaw Pact intervention or civil war with
Polish security forces. Because the communists had cut the
direct phone lines between Poland and the Vatican, John Paul
II communicated with Jozef Cardinal Glemp in Warsaw via
radio. He also dispatched his envoys to Poland to report on
the situation. ``The Vatican's information was absolutely
better and quicker than ours in every respect,'' says Haig.
``Though we had some excellent sources of our own, our
information was taking too long to filter through the
intelligence bureaucracy.''
In the first hours of the crisis, Reagan ordered that the
Pope receive as quickly as possible relevant American
intelligence, including information from a Polish Deputy
Minister of Defense who was secretly reporting to the CIA.
Washington also handed over to the Vatican reports and
analysis from Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski, a senior member of
the Polish general staff, who was a CIA informant until
November 1981, when he had to be smuggled out of Poland after
he warned that the Soviets were prepared to invade if the
Polish government did not impose martial law. Kuklinski had
issued a similar warning about a Soviet military action in
late 1980, which led the outgoing Carter Administration to
send secret messages to Leonid Brezhnev informing him that
among the costs of an invasion would be the sale of
sophisticated U.S. weapons to China. This time, Kuklinski
reported to Washington, Brezhnev had grown more impatient,
and a disastrous harvest at home meant that the Kremlin did
not need mechanized army units to help bring in the crops and
instead could spare them for an invasion. ``Anything that we
knew that we thought the Pope would not be aware of, we
certainly brought it to his attention,'' says Reagan.
``Immediately.''
the catholic team
The key Administration players were all devout Roman
Catholics--CIA chief William Casey, Allen, Clark, Haig,
Walters and William Wilson, Reagan's first ambassador to the
Vatican. They regarded the U.S.-Vatican relationship as a
holy alliance: the moral force of the Pope and the teachings
of their church combined with their fierce anticommunism and
their notion of American democracy. Yet the mission would
have been impossible without the full support of Reagan, who
believed fervently in both the benefits and the practical
applications of Washington's relationship with the Vatican.
One of his earliest goals as President, Reagan says, was to
recognize the Vatican as a state ``and make them an ally.''
According to Admiral John Poindexter, the military
assistant to the National Security Adviser when martial law
was declared in Poland, Reagan was convinced that the
communists had made a huge miscalculation: after allowing
Solidarity to operate openly for 16 months before the
crackdown, the Polish government would only alienate its
countrymen by attempting to cripple the labor
[[Page H11473]]
movement and, most important, would bring the powerful church
into direct conflict with the Polish regime. ``I didn't think
that this [the decision to impose martial law and crush
Solidarity] could stand, because of the history of Poland and
the religious aspect and all,'' Reagan says. Says Cardinal
Casaroli: ``There was a real coincidence of interests between
the U.S. and the Vatican.''
The major decisions on funneling aid to Solidarity and
responding to the Polish and Soviet governments were made by
Reagan, Casey and Clark, in consultation with John Paul
II. ``Reagan understood these things quite well, including
the covert side,'' says Richard Pipes, the conservative
Polish-born scholar who headed the NSC's Soviet and East-
European desks. ``The President talked about the evil of
the Soviet system--not its people--and how we had to do
everything possible to help these people in Solidarity who
were struggling for freedom. People like Haig and Commerce
Secretary Malcolm Baldrige and James Baker [White House
chief of staff at the time] thought it wasn't realistic.
George Bush never said a word. I used to sit behind him,
and I never knew what his opinions were. But Reagan really
understood what was at stake.''
By most accounts, Casey stepped into the vacuum in the
first days after the declaration of martial law in Poland
and--as he did in Central America--became the principal
policy architect. Meanwhile Pipes and the NSC staff began
drafting proposals for sanctions. ``The object was to drain
the Soviets and to lay blame for martial law at their
doorstep,'' says Pipes. ``The sanctions were coordinated with
Special Operations [the CIA division in charge of covert task
forces], and the first objective was to keep Solidarity alive
by supplying money, communications and equipment.''
``The church was trying to modulate the whole situation,''
explains one of the NSC officials who directed the effort to
curtail the pipeline. ``They [church leaders] were in effect
trying to create circumstances that would head off the
serious threat of Soviet intervention while allowing us to
get tougher and tougher; they were part and parcel of
virtually all of our deliberations in terms of how we viewed
the evolution of government-sponsored repression in Poland--
whether it was lessening or getting worse, and how we should
proceed.''
As for his conversations with Reagan about Poland, Clark
says they were usually short. ``I don't think I ever had an
in-depth, one-on-one, private conversation that existed for
more than three minutes with him--on any subject. That might
shock you. We had our own code of communication. I knew where
he wanted to go on Poland. And that was to take it to its nth
possibilities. The President and Casey and I discussed the
situation on the ground in Poland constantly: covert
operations; who was doing what, where, why and how; and the
chances of success.'' According to Clark, he and Casey
directed that the President's daily brief--the PDB, an
intelligence summary prepared by the CIA--include a special
supplement on secret operations and analysis in Poland.
The Pope himself, not only his deputies, met with American
officials to assess events in Poland and the effectiveness of
American actions and sent back messages--sometimes by letter,
sometimes orally--to Reagan. On almost all his trips to
Europe and the Middle East, Casey flew first to Rome, so that
he could meet with John Paul II and exchange information. But
the principal emissary between Washington and Rome remained
Walters, a former deputy director of the CIA who worked
easily with Casey. Walters met with the Pope perhaps a dozen
times, according to Vatican sources. ``Walters was sent to
and from the Vatican for the specific purpose of carrying
messages between the Pope and the President,'' says former
U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Wilson. ``It wasn't supposed
to be known that Walters was there. It wasn't all
specifically geared to Poland; sometimes there were also
discussions about Central America or the hostages in
Lebanon.''
Often in the Reagan years, American covert operations
(including those in Afghanistan, Nicaragua and Angola)
involved ``lethal assistance'' to insurgent forces: arms,
mercenaries, military advisers and explosives. In Poland the
Pope, the President and Casey embarked on the opposite path:
``What they had to do was let the natural forces already in
place play this out and not get their fingerprints on it,''
explains a analyst. What emerges from the Reagan-Casey
collaboration is a carefully calibrated operation whose scope
was modest compared with other CIA activities. ``If Casey
were around now, he'd be having some smiles,'' observes one
of his reluctant admirers. ``In 1991 Reagan and Casey got the
reordering of the world that they wanted.''
the secret directive
Less than three weeks before his meeting with the Pope in
1982, the President signed a secret national-security-
decision directive (NSDD 32) that authorized a range of
economic, diplomatic and covert measures to ``neutralize
efforts of the U.S.S.R.'' to maintain its hold on Eastern
Europe. In practical terms, the most important covert
operations undertaken were those inside Poland. The primary
purposes of NSDD 32 were to destabilize the Polish government
through covert operations involving propaganda and
organizational aid to Solidarity; the promotion of human
rights, particularly those related to the right of worship
and the Catholic Church; economic pressure; and diplomatic
isolation of the communist regime. The document, citing the
need to defend democratic reform efforts throughout the
Soviet empire, also called for increasing propaganda and
underground broadcasting operations in Eastern Europe,
actions that Reagan's aides and dissidents in Eastern Europe
believe were particularly helpful in chipping away at the
notion of Soviet invincibility.
As Republican Congressman Henry Hyde, a member of the House
Intelligence Committee from 1985 to 1990, who was apprised of
some of the Administration's covert actions, observes, ``In
Poland we did all of the things that are done in countries
where you want to destabilize a communist government and
strengthen resistance to that. We provided the supplies and
technical assistance in terms of clandestine newspapers,
broadcasting, propaganda, money, organizational help and
advice. And working outward from Poland, the same kind of
resistance was organized in the other communist countries of
Europe.''
Among those who played a consulting role was Zbigniew
Brzezinski, a native of Poland and President Jimmy Carter's
National Security Adviser. ``I got along very well with
Casey,'' recalls Brzezinski. ``He was very flexible and very
imaginative and not very bureaucratic; if something needed to
be done, it was done. To sustain an underground effort takes
a lot in terms of supplies, networks, etc., and this is why
Solidarity wasn't crushed.''
On military questions, American intelligence was better
than the Vatican's, but the church excelled in its
evaluations of the political situation. And in understanding
the mood of the people and communicating with the Solidarity
leadership, the church was in an incomparable position. ``Our
information about Poland was very well founded because the
bishops were in continual contact with the Holy See and
Solidarnosc,'' explains Cardinal Silvestrini, the Vatican's
deputy secretary of state at that time. ``They informed us
about prisoners, about the activities and needs of Solidarity
groups and about the attitude and schisms in the
government.'' All this information was communicated to the
President or Casey.
``If you study the situation of Solidarity, you see they
acted very cleverly, without pressing too much at the crucial
moments, because they had guidance from the church,'' says
one of the Pope's closest aides. ``Yes, there were times we
restrained Solidarnosc. But Poland was a bomb that could
explode--in the heart of communism, bordered by the Soviet
Union, Czechoslovakia and East Germany. Too much pressure,
and the bomb would go off.''
casey's cappuccino
Meanwhile, in Washington a close relationship developed
between Casey, Clark and Archbishop Laghi. ``Casey and I
dropped into his [Laghi's] residence early mornings during
critical times to gather his comments and counsel,'' says
Clark. ``We'd have breakfast and coffee and discuss what was
being done in Poland. I'd speak to him frequently on the
phone, and he would be in touch with the Pope.'' Says Laghi:
``They liked good cappuccino. Occasionally we might talk
about Central America or the church position on birth
control. But usually the subject was Poland.''
``Almost everything having to do with Poland was handled
outside of normal State Department channels and would go
through Casey and Clark,'' says Robert McFarlane, who served
as a deputy to both Clark and Haig and later as National
Security Adviser to the President. ``I knew that they were
meeting with Pio Laghi, and that Pio Laghi had been to see
the President, but Clark would never tell me what the
substance of the discussions was.''
On at least six occasions Laghi came to the White House and
met with Clark or the President; each time, he entered the
White House through the southwest gate in order to avoid
reports. ``By keeping in such close touch, we did not cross
lines,'' says Laghi. ``My role was primarily to facilitate
meetings between Walters and the Holy Father. The Holy Father
knew his people. It was a very complex situation--how to
insist on human rights, on religious freedom, and keep
Solidarity alive without provoking the communist authorities
further. But I told Vernon, `Listen to the Holy Father. We
have 2,000 years' experience at this.' ''
Though William Casey has been vilified for aspects of his
tenure as CIA chief, there is no criticism of his instincts
on Poland. ``Basically, he had a quiet confidence that the
communists couldn't hold on, especially in Poland,'' says
former Congressman Edward Derwinski, a Polish-speaking expert
on Eastern Europe who counseled the Administration and met
with Casey frequently. ``He was convinced the system was
falling and doomed to collapse one way or another--and Poland
was the force that would lead to the dam breaking. He
demanded a constant [CIA] focus on Eastern Europe. It wasn't
noticed, because other stories were more controversial and
were perking at the moment--Nicaragua and Salvador.''
In Poland, Casey conducted the kind of old-style operation
that he relished, something he might have done in his days at
the Office of Strategic Services during World War II or in
the early years of the CIA, when the democracies of Western
Europe rose from the ashes of World War II. It was through
Casey's contacts, his associates say, that elements of the
Socialist International were organized on behalf of
Solidarity--just as the
[[Page H11474]]
Social Democratic parties of Western Europe had been used as
an instrument of American policy by the CIA in helping to
create anticommunist governments after the war. And this time
the objective was akin to creating a Christian Democratic
majority in Poland--with the church and the overwhelmingly
Catholic membership of Solidarity as the dominant
political force in a post communist Poland. Through his
contacts with leaders of the Socialist International,
including officials of socialist governments in France and
Sweden, Casey ensured that tactical assistance was
available on the continent and at sea to move goods into
Poland. ``This wasn't about spending huge amounts of
money,'' says Brzezinski. ``It was about getting the
message out and resisting: books, communications
equipment, propaganda, ink and printing presses.''
Look for the Union Label
In almost every city and town, underground newspapers and
mimeographed bulletins appeared, challenging the state-
controlled media. The church published its own newspapers.
Solidarity missives, photocopied and mimeographed on
American-supplied equipment, were tacked to church bulletin
boards. Stenciled posters were boldly posted on police
stations and government buildings and even on entrances to
the state-controlled television center, where army officers
broadcast the news.
The American embassy in Warsaw became the pivotal CIA
station in the communist world and, by all accounts, the most
effective. Meanwhile, the AFL-CIO, which had been the largest
source of American support for Solidarity before martial law,
regarded the Reagan Administration's approach as too slow and
insufficiently confrontational with the Polish authorities.
Nonetheless, according to intelligence sources, AFL-CIO
president Lane Kirkland and his aide Tom Kahn consulted
frequently with Poindexter, Clark and other officials at the
State Department and the NSC on such matters as how and when
to move goods and supplies into Poland, identifying cities
where Solidarity was in particular need of organizing
assistance, and examining how Solidarity and the AFL-CIO
might collaborate in the preparation of propaganda materials.
``Lane Kirkland deserves special credit,'' observes
Derwinski. ``They don't like to admit [it], but they
literally were in lockstep [with the Administration]. Also
never forget that Bill Clark's wife is Czechoslovak, as is
Lane Kirkland's wife. This is one issue where everybody was
aboard; there were no turf fights or mavericks or
naysayers.''
But AFL-CIO officials were never aware of the extent of
clandestine U.S. assistance, or the Administration's reliance
on the church for guidance regarding how hard to push Polish
and Soviet authorities. Casey was wary of ``contaminating''
the American and European labor movements by giving them too
many details of the Administration's efforts. And indeed this
was not strictly a CIA operation. Rather, it was a blend of
covert and overt, public policy and secret alliances. Casey
recognized that in many instances the AFL-CIO was more
imaginative than his own operatives in providing
organizational assistance to Solidarity and smuggling
equipment into the country. According to former deputy CIA
director Inman, Casey decided that the American labor
movement's relationship with Solidarity was so good that much
of what the CIA needed could be financed and obtained through
AFL-CIO channels. ``Financial support wasn't what they
needed,'' says Inman. ``It was organization, and that was an
infinitely better way to help them than through classic
covert operations.''
The Solidarity office in Brussels became an international
clearinghouse: for representatives of the Vatican, for CIA
operatives, for the AFL-CIO, for representatives of the
Socialist International, for the congressionally funded
National Endowment for Democracy, which also worked
closely with Casey. It was the place where Solidarity told
its backers--some of whose real identities were unknown to
Solidarity itself--what it needed, where goods and
supplies and organizers could be most useful. Priests,
couriers, labor organizers and intelligence operatives
moved in and out of Poland with requests for aid and with
detailed information on the situation inside the
government and the underground. Food and clothing and
money to pay fines of Solidarity leaders who were brought
before Polish courts poured into the country. Inside
Poland, a network of priests carried messages back and
forth between the churches where many of Solidarity's
leaders were in hiding.
In the summer of 1984, when the sanctions against Poland
seemed to be hurting ordinary Poles and not the communists,
Laghi traveled to Santa Barbara to meet with Reagan at the
Western White House and urge that some of the sanctions be
lifted. The Administration complied. At the same time, the
White House, in close consultation with the Vatican, refused
to ease its economic pressures on Moscow--denying technology,
food and cultural exchanges as the price for continuing
oppression in Poland.
Much of the equipment destined for Solidarity arrived in
Poland by ship--often packed in mismarked containers sent
from Denmark and Sweden, then unloaded at Gdansk and other
ports by dockers secretly working with Solidarity. According
to Administration officials, the socialist government of
Sweden--and Swedish labor unions--played a crucial role in
arranging the transshipment of goods to Poland. From the
Polish docks, equipment moved to its destination in trucks
and private cars driven by Solidarity sympathizers who often
used churches and priests as their point of contact for
deliveries and pickups.
``solidarity lives!''
``The Administration plugged into the church across the
board,'' observes Derwinski, now Secretary of Veterans
Affairs. ``Not just through the church hierarchy but through
individual churches and bishops. Monsignor Bronislaw
Dabrowski, a deputy to Cardinal Glemp, came to use often to
tell us what was needed: he would meet with me, with Casey,
the NSC and sometimes with Walters.'' John Cardinal Krol of
Philadelphia, whose father was born in Poland, was the
American churchman closest to the Pope. He frequently met
with Casey to discuss support for Solidarity and covert
operations, according to CIA sources and Derwinski. ``Krol
hit it off very well with President Reagan and was a source
of constant advice and contact,'' says Derwinski. ``Often he
was the one Casey or Clark went to, the one who really
understood the situation.''
By 1985 it was apparent that the Polish government's
campaign to suppress Solidarity had failed. According to a
report by Adrian Karatnycky, who helped organize the AFL-
CIO's assistance to Solidarity, there were more than 400
underground periodicals appearing in Poland, some with a
circulation that exceeded 30,000. Books and pamphlets
challenging the authority of the communist government were
printed by the thousands. Comic books for children recast
Polish fables and legends, with Jaruzelski pictured as the
villain, communism as the red dragon and Walesa as the heroic
knight. In church basements and homes, millions of viewers
watched documentary videos produced and screened on
the equipment smuggled into the country.
With clandestine broadcasting equipment supplied by the CIA
and the AFL-CIO, Solidarity regularly broke into the
government's radio programming, often with the message
``Solidarity lives!'' or ``Resist!'' Armed with a transmitter
supplied by the CIA through church channels, Solidarity
interrupted television programming with both audio and visual
messages, including calls for strikes and demonstrations.
``There was a great moment at the half time of the national
soccer championship,'' says a Vatican official. ``Just as the
whistle sounded for the half, a Solidarity Lives! banner went
up on the screen and a tape came on calling for resistance.
What was particularly ingenious was waiting for the half-time
break; had the interruption come during actual soccer play,
it could have alienated people.'' As Brzezinski sums it up,
``This was the first time that communist police suppression
didn't succeed.''
``Nobody believed the collapse of communism would happen
this fast or on this timetable,'' says a cardinal who is one
of the Pope's closest aides. ``But in their first meeting,
the holy Father and the President committed themselves and
the institutions of the church and America to such a goal.
And from that day, the focus was to bring it about in
Poland.''
Step by reluctant step, the Soviets and the communist
government of Poland bowed to the moral, economic and
political pressure imposed by the Pope and the President.
Jails were emptied, Walesa's trial on charges of slandering
state officials was abandoned, the Polish communist party
turned fratricidal, and the country's economy collapsed in a
haze of strikes and demonstrations and sanctions.
On Feb. 19, 1987, after Warsaw had pledged to open a
dialogue with the church, Reagan lifted U.S. sanctions. Four
months later, Pope John Paul II was cheered by millions of
his countrymen as he traveled across Poland demanding human
rights and praising Solidarity. In July 1988, Gorbachev
visited Warsaw and signaled Moscow's recognition that the
government could not rule without Solidarity's cooperation.
On April 5, 1989, the two sides signed agreements legalizing
Solidarity and calling for open parliamentary elections in
June. In December 1990, nine years after he was arrested and
his labor union banned, Lech Walesa became President of
Poland.
[Correction (Apr. 27, 1992): A short article accompanying
our report on the cooperative effort of President Reagan and
Pope John Paul II to assist Poland's Solidarity movement
[Cover, Feb. 24] incorrectly stated the U.S. position on
financial aid for family planning in foreign countries. The
U.S. announced in 1984 that it would withhold funds for
abortion or coerced birth control--but not for all family
planning.]
____
[From the Policy Review, 1992 Winter]
The Cold War's Magnificent Seven; Pope John Paul II; Awakener of the
East
(By Fr. Robert A. Sirico)
The victory of the Free World in the Cold War ranks with
the victory of the Allies in World War II, the landing on the
moon, and the spectacular advances in health and prosperity
around most of the world as the most important achievement of
mankind in this century. There were countless heroes in the
defeat of Communism--among them the people of the former
Soviet empire whose indomitable spirit ultimately triumphed
over their enslavers, and the taxpayers of the Western
alliance who spent trillions of dollars over more than 40
years to protect their
[[Page H11475]]
countries and civilization from the Soviet threat. The West
was also blessed by extraordinary leaders and moral voices
who defined the nature of the conflict, galvanized the
popular will to resist Communism, and created the
institutions that led to eventual victory. Policy Review pays
tribute here to seven of those leaders whose words and deeds
were essential for the wonderful events of the last few
years.
It was a nervous clique of geriatric Stalinists who watched
from Moscow in 1979 as millions of Poles poured into the
streets of Krakow to greet their native son Karol Wojtyla
when he returned to them as Pope John Paul II. A political
awareness dawned among these teeming masses when they saw in
one another's boldness the impotence of the dictatorship that
claimed dominance over their lives.
Nor were the only witnesses to these events Politburo
members and Poles. Lithuanians and Ukrainians, Hungarians and
Czechoslovakians also witnessed with astonishment the
unfurling of Solidarity banners in a Communist nation.
Perhaps it was not so astonishing to the new pope. As a
young boy Wojtyla used to pause for a few moments following
Mass to offer a series of prayers ``for the conversion of
Russia.''
From the outset, Wojtyla was a robust, intense, strong, and
disciplined young man. His charismatic personality was
augmented by his facility with languages and further honed by
theatrical training. His combination of fervent piety and
firm anti-Communism would serve him well in his future as
priest, bishop, and cardinal in Poland. In a country that is
itself 93 percent Roman Catholic, such a profession would
necessitate dealing with Russia's surrogates, sometimes
making strategic accommodations, without yielding the
moral ground to Communism.
John Paul comprehended the dynamics of Marxism both
intellectually and personally. He knew Communism well, so
well that some left-wing theologians initially mistook his
familiarity with Marxism for sympathy. They hoped he would
lead a new and enriched dialogue between Christianity and
Marxism. Instead, by virtue of his philosophical and
theological training, he was equipped both to refute
Marxism's logical errors, and also to offer a more compelling
alternative in its place.
As leader of the largest Christian religion, John Paul is
also the leader of a vast enterprise, joined by thousands of
subsidiary organizations. These are linked by a common set of
beliefs and symbols, enabling the transcendence of the usual
barriers of language, culture, and geographic border. This
expansive umbrella enabled him, through gesture, encyclical,
and homily, to inspire millions of people living under
regimes that violated their ability to work for authentic
liberty.
moral conflict
During his pontificate, two other figures stepped onto the
world stage and occupied with him critical roles in the
momentous events that would unfold. A year after John Paul
assumed his place at the Vatican in 1978, Margaret Thatcher
came to occupy 10 Downing Street. About a year and a half
later, Ronald Reagan took up residency in the White House.
The common thread between John Paul, Thatcher, and Reagan
is that while they appreciated the art of politics, they
understood the global situation in fundamentally moral
categories. They understood, as few world leaders have
understood, that the argument in favor of freedom is a moral
argument as well as a political and economic one. Without the
moral dimension, the battles that these cold warriors waged
would have been meaningless and uninspiring.
The compelling dignity and moral depth of John Paul is
especially highlighted when he contrasted with the leaders of
another international religious body, and their posture
toward the dictatorships of Eastern Europe. I speak here, of
course, of the World Council of Churches. Almost from its
inception, and throughout the past 40 years, the socialist
penchants of the WCC prevented it from offering any kind of
principled opposition to the immorality of Communism.
``Liberation'' was the central theme of the WCC's Nairobi
Assembly in 1975. South Africa was denounced alongside
``white Atlantic nations''; the rights of aborigines in
Australia were defended even as the plight of migrant workers
in Europe was decried.
Yet a motion to include in this litany of injustice a
mention of religious repression in Russia was turned back.
Instead, the assembly would only acknowledge that it
``devoted a substantial period of discussion to the alleged
denials of religious liberty in the USSR'' [emphasis added].
While the officers of the WCC were funding Marxist
guerrillas in Africa in the name of ``liberation,'' John Paul
was teaching the polish under ground in the effective use of
nonviolent resistance to totalitarianism. He did this in
his writings, as well as in the numerous meetings and
audiences he held with leaders of the underground.
No doubt historians who write on this period in years to
come will not only see the moral dimension, but also the
superb tactical insight of the use of nonviolence. Too
aggressive a stance on the part of the Polish underground and
the Soviet Union might have cracked down at a much earlier
and more vulnerable stage. Drawing on a tradition accustomed
to martyrs, whose blood, it is said, is the seed of the Roman
Catholic Church, prayer and determination in the face of
persecution resulted in one of the most radical yet bloodless
revolutions in world history.
Spirit of Liberty
If there is one word to characterize the legacy John Paul
will leave to history, perhaps that word is liberty.
Historians will undoubtedly note the amazing move in the
Catholic world toward democratic political processes and free
economies in the period of this pope's reign. This is clearly
evident in Latin America where the Pope has confronted unjust
regimes of every stripe.
How fitting, then, that John Paul, this priest from Poland
who lived under what is arguably history's most immoral and
destructive political system, should have been the one to
write the epitaph for collectivism in its Communist,
socialist, and welfare statist incarnations. This he has done
in the form of his most recent social encyclical, Centesimus
Annus (``The Hundredth Year'').
Celebrating the centenary of Pope Leo XIII's pastoral
letter Rerum Navarum, Centesimus Annus looks at the events of
this age and envisions a world where government is strictly
limited and based on the rule of law; where free people trade
in free markets to produce a more prosperous economy for all
the world's needy; and where the social system is rooted in
moral and religious tradition.
It will be interesting to see whether this moral vision
will have greater impact on the West or on the former
republics of the Soviet empire that John Paul did so much to
free.
Nothing written here is to be construed as necessarily
reflecting the views of The Heritage Foundation or as an
attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before
Congress.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the distinguished Chairman
of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for
yielding me time. I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr.
Sensenbrenner) for sponsoring this very important resolution and for
his eloquent remarks just made on behalf of the Pope.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Sensenbrenner resolution
urging the President on behalf of people of the United States to
present the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Pope John Paul II, who in
his 25 years as leader of the Catholic Church, has become pastor to the
world, boldly proclaiming the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ,
and its message of love, hope and reconciliation.
The Holy Father walks the path to peace that surpasses understanding,
the road that leads to heaven. Even at age 83 and struggling with
various health ailments, including Parkinsons disease, the Pope's
charisma and steadfast faith shine brightly, giving hope to millions of
people of all faiths.
Mr. Speaker, as we know, during his pontificate the Holy Father has
visited over 125 different countries, several more than once,
proclaiming the good news to millions and has been seen by more people
than anyone in human history.
In what is believed to be the largest gathering ever, he spoke before
an estimated 6 million people at a mass at World Youth Day in the
Philippines in 1995.
Pope John Paul II is truly a world leader and has been an
unparalleled champion of those who cannot speak for themselves, the
poor, the disenfranchised, unborn children, the disabled, even those
condemned to death and those whose basic rights as children of God are
trampled upon by oppressive regimes.
Mr. Speaker, it has been noted that years before he was Pope when he
was teaching at a university in Poland as a young priest, a communist
student launched an aggressive attack against religion during class.
The student, an avowed atheist, was so filled with rage, his fellow
students feared that the young priest, then known as Karol Wojtyla,
would lose his temper and kick the student out of class. Instead,
Father Wojtyla had listened to the student before calmly and thoroughly
refuting his argument point by point. After class the two had a
conversation that began a dialogue. The student would later say that
helped him greatly when confronting atheist communists after he
converted to Catholicism and after he himself became a priest.
Mr. Speaker, it is worth recalling that Pope John Paul II's first
words as Pope to the world included the message, ``Do not be afraid.''
{time} 2015
This message was part of an unrelenting crusade against the forces of
[[Page H11476]]
atheistic communism that was instrumental in its collapse. No one, Mr.
Speaker, can dispute that John Paul II's historic visit to Poland in
1979 inspired the creation of the solidarity movement with its great
leader Lech Walesa in the midst of unspeakable turmoil and personal
risk. Remember, this Pope was shot, and he actually, after he was shot,
and he was actually we believe saved miraculously, went to the jail
cell of his would-be assassin to forgive that man for the crime he
attempted and for the pain and suffering that he visited upon the Pope.
Despite all of those personal risks, Pope John Paul II was, during
those terrible years, and is the brave voice of reason, candor and
hope. Even Mikhail Gorbachev admitted that the sweeping changes in
Eastern Europe and in the Soviet Union itself would not have occurred
had it not been for this Pope.
Today, the Pope continues to preach, Mr. Speaker, the message of
life, hope and love amid the oppressive tide of the culture of death.
His teachings not only inspire the faithful today but will continue to
have an impact long after his work on earth is complete.
Many of his most profound messages are contained in 13 incisive
encyclicals, including Evangelium Vitae, ``The Gospel of Life,'' which
reminds all of us, especially those in public service, that the gift of
human life is so precious, so full of dignity, that it must remain
inviolable and be defended against all means of violence.
The Pope writes in that very important document that, ``This is what
is happening at the level of politics and government,'' and I quote
him, ``the original and inalienable right to life is questioned or
denied on the basis of a parliamentary vote or the will of one part of
the people, even if it is the majority. This is the sinister result of
relativism which reigns unopposed, the right ceases to be such, because
it is no longer firmly founded on the inviolable dignity of the person,
but is made subject to the will of the stronger part.''
Elsewhere, Mr. Speaker, in Evangelium Vitae, Pope John Paul II states
in unambiguous terms that, ``Abortion and euthanasia are crimes which
no human law can claim to legitimize. There is no obligation in
conscience to obey such laws,'' he writes and said, ``There is a grave
and clear obligation to oppose them by conscientious objection. In the
case of intrinsically unjust law,'' he continues, ``such as a law
permitting abortion or euthanasia, it is therefore never licit to obey
it or to take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law, or
to vote for it.''
Finally, Mr. Speaker, just let me say this. My dear wife Marie and I
have had the awesome privilege of meeting the Holy Father on two
occasions, and we were awed. We were deeply struck by his innate
goodness, the clarity that we see in his eyes, the love that he
emanates and by his gentleness. When we were in Newark, New Jersey, at
the cathedral there when he came during one of his visits to the U.S.,
and we happened to be there as a family. He walked over to my youngest
daughter Elyse, gave her a big nice kiss on the top of the head, and we
could just see the compassion of this man in his eyes and in his
gestures and in his heart. We were also even faces in the crowd in 1979
at New York's Shea Stadium when he came in on his first trip and again
were inspired by this good man.
Mr. Speaker, we have been on numerous occasions and I think many
Members, House and Senate, Democrats, Republicans, it does not matter,
have all been touched by his care and his compassion for others, a man
that is so completely rooted in God. We have been touched by his
devotion to the Blessed Mother. He is a man who in word and deed
unselfishly cares for the least of our brethren.
John Paul II is truly the vicar of Christ on earth, a man who has and
continues to be faithfully and courageously walking in the shoes of the
fisherman, Saint Peter.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I have no other speakers. I commend the distinguished chairman of the
Committee on the Judiciary for introducing this significant resolution.
I urge all Members to support the adoption of H. Con. Res. 313.
Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in full support of this resolution,
H. Con. Res. 313, urging President Bush to present the Presidential
medal of Freedom to Pope John Paul II.
Mr. Speaker, Pope John Paul II is a leader who has truly made this
world a better place to live. His dedication and devotion to religious
freedom for all people aided in bringing about a peaceful end to
communism in Eastern Europe. His courage to defy the Nazis during World
War II not only helped preserve Poland, but kept the flame of hope
alive to all free people during those dark years.
He stood up when the tyranny of Soviet Communism darkened Eastern
Europe, and helped ignite the spark of revolution by his visit to
Poland in June 1979. His insistence on the dignity of the human spirit,
and the call for religious freedom as the first of human rights, aided
all Poles in their crusade against their Communist oppressors.
Mr. Speaker, he not only inspired millions suffering under communism,
but he also inspired millions more when, just four days after an
assassination attempt he said, ``Pray for the brother who shot me, whom
I have sincerely forgiven.''
He is a rare individual. He is someone who has truly changed the
world. His papacy has affected not only Catholics, but also Jews,
Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and all others who value freedom over
oppression. Citizens of the world owe a debt of gratitude to Pope John
Paul II.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate him in celebration of his Silver
Jubilee. I call upon my colleagues to vote for this resolution and call
on the President to honor Pope John Paul II with the Presidential Medal
of Freedom.
Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House
Concurrent Resolution 313, urging the President to present the
Presidential Medal of Freedom to His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, in
recognition of his significant, enduring and historic contributions to
the causes of freedom, human dignity, and peace and to commemorate the
Silver Jubilee of His Holiness' inauguration of his ministry as Bishop
of Rome and Supreme Pastor of the Catholic Church. I want to thank Mr.
Sensenbrenner for his leadership on this bill.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is our nation's highest civilian
award, recognizing exceptional meritorious contribution to world peace.
His Holiness, Pope John Paul II is more than deserving of this award.
Throughout his life and his ministry, he has stood firm in his belief
of the inalienable right and dignity of the human person and has been
unafraid to shape world events, speak for peace and advocate for human
rights.
From his early years during the Nazi occupation of Poland where he
risked his life to protect Polish Jews from persecution to his
forgiveness of his would-be assassin, he has led by example.
His steadfast support of the Solidarity movement in his homeland of
Poland provided hope and encouragement to the Polish people and led to
peaceful government reforms that precipitated the collapse of communism
in Poland and the eventual fall of the Soviet Union bringing freedom to
millions of people.
As these events were unfolding in Eastern Europe, Pope John Paul II
was also reaching out to other parts of the world, proclaiming belief
in the inalienable right and dignity of the human person and using his
influence to bring about change.
Through his efforts, he has helped to reduce tensions between world
leaders, reducing conventional and nuclear weapons and averting a
nuclear war.
He has sought to heal divisions across the different faith
traditions, promoting reconciliation and dialogue between members to
further understanding and respect for all people.
He has traveled over the world bringing hope and encouragement to the
millions still oppressed by tyranny, hunger, disease and despair.
Despite his ailing health, he continues to lead with strength of
conviction as a champion of freedom and peace. Through the many
challenges that has faced the Catholic Church and the world, Pope John
Paul II has been the rock of the Catholic Church, a model for all
people.
On behalf of the people of Guam, I fully support House Concurrent
Resolution 313 and urge its unanimous passage.
Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res.
313, a measure urging the President to present the Presidential Medal
of Freedom to His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, in recognition of his
contributions to the causes of freedom, human dignity, and peace, and
to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of his inauguration as Bishop of Rome
and Supreme Pastor of the Catholic Church. It is with great honor and
esteem that I stand here today to pay tribute to Pope John Paul II. The
leadership he has displayed during his 25-year tenure as Supreme Pastor
of the Roman Catholic Church has helped to shape our moral conscience.
His fight to end human rights abuses and his opposition to communism
not only influenced the Catholic community, but the world community.
[[Page H11477]]
Born Karol Jozef Wojtyla, Jr. in 1920, Pope John Paul II was the
second son of Karol Wojtyla, Sr. and Emilia Kaczorwoska Wojtyla. Karol,
Sr. was a retired officer for the Polish Army as well as a tailor, and
Emilia was a schoolteacher. Pope John Paul II repeatedly demonstrated
his unique ability to form friendships that crossed the social norms of
the time. Although his hometown of Wadowice, Poland was wrought with
anti-Semitism, Pope John Paul II and his family did not share in that
hatred. At an early age, His Holiness befriended several members of the
Jewish community and learned the importance of compassion and
understanding. He later became the first Pope to visit a synagogue and
the first to visit a memorial in nearby Auschwitz honoring victims of
the Holocaust.
Shortly after his father's death in 1941, Pope John Paul II attended
an underground seminary in Krakow, where he was eventually ordained in
1946. He served as a chaplain to university students at St. Florian's
Church in Krakow until the communist government abolished the theology
department in 1954. He continued his studies at the Seminary of Krakow
and was hired as a professor at the Catholic University of Lublin,
where he founded and operated a facility to assist families with
marital problems, ranging from family planning to alcoholism and
physical abuse. In 1956, Pope John Paul II was appointed to the Chair
of Ethics at Catholic University, and in 1958 he was named the
auxiliary bishop of Krakow. He was instrumental to the Vatican Council
II deliberations in 1962, which encouraged diversity in language and
practice of the Catholic faith in order to facilitate the inclusion of
laymen in worship while also condemning anti-Semitism around the world.
His respect throughout the Catholic community led to his election as
Pope after the death of Pope John Paul I in September 1978, making him
the first Slavic Pope in history.
Less than a year after being named Pope, John Paul II returned to his
native Poland and spoke out in favor of the Polish Solidarity movement
and against communism. His insistence that no system of government
override religious beliefs gave hope to people of faith throughout the
former Soviet Union that reforms would take place. The courage and
determination that he displayed in opposition to a world power
reflected the strength of his convictions and his willingness to stand
up to an institutional force that challenged the beliefs of the church.
Pope John Paul II repeated this theme when he visited Cuba in January
2003, stating that a government does not the authority to legislate
religious beliefs.
Mr. Speaker, during his 25 years as pontiff, Pope John Paul II has
spread the Catholic faith with visits to over 115 countries. His gift
for uniting those of different beliefs earned him Man of the Year
honors from Time Magazine in 1994, and his popularity among both
Catholics and non-Catholics around the world is a testament to his
genuine love for humanity. As a graduate of St. Mark's Catholic School
in Gary, Indiana, I am well aware of the significant role that he has
played in leading the Catholic Church into the 21st century. His
teaching of tolerance and love for thy neighbor has made him worthy of
the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and that is why I intend to support
H. Con. Res. 313.
Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to join my friend from Wisconsin
in urging the President to present the Presidential Medal of Freedom to
Pope John Paul II, who has marked his Silver Jubilee as the spiritual
leader of more than one billion Catholics around the world.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is considered the highest civilian
award of the United States Government. It was established to recognize
persons who have made especially meritorious contributions to the
security or national interests of the United States; to world peace; or
to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.
Recipients have included educators, diplomats, authors, scientists and
religious leaders.
By bestowing this great honor upon Pope John Paul II, we recognize
His Holiness' lifetime dedication to peace, hope, freedom, unity and
dignity. No one is more deserving of this award of special distinction
which symbolizes the lasting admiration of the American people for the
Pope's many efforts.
This man was formed at a remarkable time in human history. He knew
the persecution of oppression and witnessed the false ideologies of the
20th Century. He studied for the priesthood in secrecy and lived
through the Nazi occupation and Communist subjugation of his native
Poland. He was a philosopher, theologian and pastor. He was
instrumental in the demise of the Communist regime in Poland, and he
played an important role in the collapse of Communism throughout
central and eastern Europe, which ended the Cold War.
The Holy Father has continued to promote freedom and peace throughout
the world during his pontificate. He has truly internationalized the
Catholic Church, and yet he has also reached out in an unprecedented
way to peoples of other beliefs and religions all over the world
through his promotion of greater understanding, healing, and harmony
between religions. His Holiness has particularly promoted unity among
Christian churches, reconciliation with the Jewish people, and dialogue
with Islam. The Holy Father was the first Pope to visit a synagogue, as
well as the first to visit a mosque.
I consider it an honor to be able to ask my Congressional colleagues
to join me in paying tribute to this devoted spiritual leader and to
celebrate with the Holy Father this Jubilee by urging the President to
bestow the Medal of Freedom upon His Holiness, Pope John Paul II.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pearce). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the
House suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con.
Res. 313.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution was
agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________