Word: rome
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...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...
...Pope's day begins while Rome still sleeps, around 5:30, and does not end until 11:30 p.m. By 6:15 he is in his private chapel, praying and meditating before its altar, over which hangs a large bronze crucifix. Within sight is a copy of Poland's most cherished icon, the Black Virgin of Czestochowa, from whose image Poles historically drew strength as they battled against their oppressors...
John Paul also consults frequently with bishops outside Rome whose judgment he trusts. The Pope has relied heavily for advice on the synod of bishops that meets in Rome every three years. He has attended all their sessions -- including the most recent ones in October -- listening with his usual intensity. But there is never a joint final communique. Indeed, the Pope may be advised, but to the private dismay of many bishops, any decision on issues discussed will be made by the Pope, and the Pope alone. As John Paul once told TIME's Wilton Wynn: "It is a mistake...
...until recently as becoming too liberal -- has led him to encourage lay Catholic movements such as Opus Dei. (Papal spokesman Navarro is a member.) He has declared this controversial organization a personal prelature, which means that it is exempt from the jurisdiction of local bishops and reports directly to Rome. The Pope has also given warm encouragement to a new religious order, the Legionaries of Christ, which some conservatives see as a replacement for the Jesuits of old. Members are in training for up to 14 years (even longer than Jesuits) and have proved themselves to be more personally committed...
...time erodes his physical powers and numbers the days of his pontificate, John Paul seeks strength from the friends of his youth. Several times a year, he dines with Jerzy Kluger, a Jewish classmate from Wadowice who is a businessman in Rome. Swapping stories and memories, Kluger calls the Pope by his youthful nickname, Lolek. John Paul likes to spend his vacations hiking with the Rev. Father Tadeusz Styczen (pronounced Stee-chen), the Polish philosopher who succeeded to Wojtyla's chair at the University of Lublin and plays a key role in the shaping of his encyclicals. Styczen, 62, continues...