Word: popes
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...years now, Karol Wojtyla -- once actor, then priest, then Archbishop and Cardinal -- has been Pope John Paul II, the Supreme Pontiff, Bishop of Rome, leader of a church of nearly 1 billion souls. "It's curious," an Italian Archbishop once said, "you'd think he had always been Pope." And yet to understand the man and his papacy, one must look not only to the Vatican, from which he issues spiritual guidelines, but also to the almost mystical Poland he holds in his heart. Indeed, though the Pope's corner bedroom on the third floor of the Vatican's Apostolic...
...discussed it every day," recalls Navarro. "There were real security questions -- not just for the Pope but for the people. But he wanted to go very badly." Less than a week before the trip, the Vatican received a veiled threat from Radovan Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb leader. "His message was full of trickery," says Navarro. "He told us in effect, 'I have no problem with the trip, but what if the Muslims attempted an assassination and blamed us?' " John Paul sent a personal envoy to Karadzic to get him to repeat the same thing to his face. He did. That...
...depth of the Pope's disappointment was apparent when he visited Croatia on Sept. 10. He walked unsteadily and gasped for breath, leading to rumors that he might be near death. What may have troubled the Pope more than physical discomfort was a fear that his mission as priest and prophet would end prematurely. Five days later, John Paul summoned senior Curia officers to his summer retreat at Castel Gandolfo. "He was tired," said an official, "and obviously suffering with his hip." And then the Pope surprised his aides by declaring once again, "I have to go to Sarajevo...
...stern tour guide, shows off memorabilia such as the young Karol's favorite canoe paddle, his hickory skis and the three papal robes John Paul donated as exhibits. Please stop by the gift shop before you leave, she advises visitors. And please do pick up a copy of the Pope's new book. When that volume was first published in Poland this year, copies were so scarce -- the publisher had severely underestimated demand -- that they were selling at double the cover price...
...Italy, the Pope must plow through daily scheduled meetings and audiences, prayers and Masses, visits to Rome's 320 parishes and deep philosophical debates. Yet he remains intensely interested in anything involving the church in Poland. John Paul reads the Cracow Catholic weekly Tygodnik Powszechny as soon as it arrives at the Vatican. Indeed, bishops around the world have caught on to this habit and compete fiercely to have their latest works published in what editor Father Andrzej Bardecki calls "our little weekly...