God’s Banker I 4. The Priest and the Spy
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What is the premise of 'God’s Banker I 4. The Priest and the Spy'?
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— Good evening. The pope is in Poland. The leader of the Roman Catholic Church has returned home, home to a nation that is both communist and devoutly Catholic.
Why was Pope John Paul II's visit to Poland significant?
— It was a hot day in 1979 when Pope John Paul II's plane touched down on the Polish runway. Half the world was monitoring the plane's itinerary on television.
No pope has ever visited a communist country before. It is a profound religious and political event.
He'd been pope only eight months, the first non-Italian pope in over 400 years. And as a proud Polish citizen, he was returning to his homeland for the first time since taking on the papacy. But it wasn't just a homecoming. It was an incredibly dangerous political act.
Most members of the Polish Communist Party Presidium had strong objections to the Pope's visit, but realized there was little they could do to prevent it.
Because Poland at that time was 90% Catholic, and Poles were desperate to see their beloved son come home. But Poland was also communist, part of the Soviet bloc. And communist leaders saw religion, and the Catholic Church in particular, as a threat, a rival. They'd been trying to banish Christianity in Poland for decades. In the 70s, protests and strikes were breaking out in multiple cities across the country. And now, here were over a million pro-Christian and likely anti-communist citizens all together lining the streets of Warsaw, amped up for their pope.
A crackdown seemed inevitable, if not by Polish authorities, then by the Soviet army.
How did the Polish people react to the Pope's visit?
Though Polish officials didn't want to allow the Pope's visit, denying his entry meant that they'd face a possible riot. No other Pope had managed to slip behind the Iron Curtain before, but this Pope, the Polish Pope, he made his way in, which was unbelievable. Christ had breached the Iron Curtain. The West had breached the Curtain. Every Catholic who grew up during the Cold War probably knows about this trip. It was like a grudge match. The Pope facing off against the communists. At stake was the fate of Poland.
...shaping up as the greatest demonstration of church loyalty ever seen in a Soviet bloc country.
I've heard this story from my grandmother, who watched the scene from her television in Rome, but I never actually saw the images until now. In front of millions, and I mean millions, of Poles, Pope John Paul II strode confidently on a platform that was half altar, half Monsters of Rock stage, He was calm, like he knew exactly what he was doing. He knew that his next move could change the course of Polish history and really world history. Would he encourage Poles to rise up against communism and risk their lives? Or would he play it safe? with police and spies for the KGB watching in the wings, John Paul didn't explicitly tell his country folk to fight, but he did tell them to keep living the life that God wanted for them, to keep going to church, keep supporting trade unions in defiance of Soviet policies.
John Paul's call is clear. Embrace God and choose him, not a communist doctrine. Have faith.
Then the Pope looked out into the crowd and paused. I assumed that there'd be mass arrests erupting at this point, but no. At the end of the homily, the Polish crowds began to sing.
Frequent long applause interrupted him and once led spontaneously to an old Polish song they sang with their pope's amplified voice in unison, changing the Soviet-approved words, God bless our independent Poland, to the words, God bring an independent Poland.
Then the crowds chanted, We want God. Some say the cheers went on for 14 minutes as Soviet police looked on helplessly.
His speech had finished an hour before in this town square, but they wouldn't let him go, nor did he want to.
It's clear from the videos that emotions were running high throughout this demonstration of Catholic faith in the heart of Soviet Poland. But even with over a million devotees of Pope John Paul standing in the heart of Warsaw and thousands of cops at the ready, the day didn't end in violence, but a revolution had begun.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the premise of 'God’s Banker I 4. The Priest and the Spy'?
0:00–0:28
2
Why was Pope John Paul II's visit to Poland significant?
0:28–2:00
3
How did the Polish people react to the Pope's visit?
2:00–6:48
4
What role did Roberto Calvi play in the Vatican's financial dealings?
6:48–12:55
5
Who is Archbishop Paul Marcinkus and what was his involvement?
12:55–19:36
6
How did Francesco Pazienza become involved with Calvi and the Vatican?
19:36–29:14