National archive acquires JP II's letters to communists

photo - PAP/Rafał Guz

The letters were written by Pope John Paul II to Professor Henryk Jabłoński, chairman of the Council of State – the collective presidency in communist Poland – and have been included in the collection of Poland’s State Archives (Archiwum Akt Nowych).

They are a gift from Henryk Jabłoński’s son, Krzysztof Jabłoński.

The letters date from 1978-1985 and relate to the beginnings of John Paul II’s pontificate, the preparations to his first visit to Poland in 1979 and the second in 1983.

They also contain the Pope’s views on the repercussions of the introduction of martial law in December 1981.

In one of the letters from 1983, the Pope thanks Henryk Jabłoński for the invitation to visit his homeland. He writes that as a Polish Pope “he has a solemn right and duty to feel a deep bond with the nation”.

Further on in the letter, the Pope says that, in solidarity with Polish bishops, he calls for a release of all those interned after the imposition of martial law.

In a letter dated 20 October 1984, John Paul II writes about the campaign of removing the crosses from public schools organized by the communist authorities.

“Even though the painful events of recent days are for me the source of many sad reflections, I do not lose hope that brotherly love and respect of every person’s inalienable rights will win in my homeland,” the Pope wrote.

The letters have been so far kept in the Jabłoński family archive. Henryk Jabłoński, their addressee, was a historian by profession. He died in 2003, aged 94. (mk/pg)