Word: poland
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...saint. The only real question is when that sainthood will be made official. The date of birth, of course, we already know to be May 18, 1920, when Karol Wojtyla was born in a humble two-story home in the town of Wadowice, in the rolling countryside of southern Poland. He died 85 years later in Rome as the most widely beloved - and arguably most influential - pope of the past millennium. But exactly when the Catholic Church will officially recognize Pope John Paul II as a saint is a question only the Lord (and Vatican bureaucrats) can answer...
...into the local language. There could be no more jarring reality for this passionately Catholic country that had grown used to seeing one of their own in the seat of Peter, and relied on John Paul's unique leadership to help end Communist rule and chart a course for Poland's future...
...Catholic Church is a 2,000 year institution, where even the passing of national hero-pope does not translate into a fizzling of faith. Poland in fact remains a bastion of traditional Catholicism in an increasingly secular Europe. Some 96% the population call themselves Roman Catholic, while 57% attend mass every Sunday. "Stand firm in your faith," Benedict told worshipers is the motto for the four-day trip. "I have very much wanted to make this visit to the native land and people of my beloved predecessor, the servant of God John Paul II," the Pope said. "I have come...
...with one million faithful expected to attend. Benedict will close his trip with a solemn visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where the occupying Nazi regime killed some 1.5 million people, most of them Jews. It is a trip that John Paul made on his first return to Poland as Pope in 1979, an early sign of a papacy committed to healing the deep wounds between Catholicism and Judaism. There will be added significance in the arrival at Auschwitz of a German-born pope who served briefly in the Hitler Youth during World War II, when membership...
...decisions - along with a looming decision to replace Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano - is a sign that Benedict is getting a sure handle on the running of the massive church hiearchy. Still, the Pope knows he can't simply sit behind his desk in Rome. This trip to Poland, which will be followed this year by stops in Spain, Germany and Turkey, will at once pay proper homage to John Paul and show that there is a new man very much in charge...