Controversy erupts over letters between Pope John Paul, Wanda Poltawska (Delay in Beatification?)

Pope John Paul II’s closest aide is strongly criticizing Dr. Wanda Poltawska over her decision to publish five decades’ worth of private correspondence with the late Pontiff. Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow says that Dr. Poltawska-- a psychiatrist and concentration camp survivor-- is claiming “a special relationship where none existed” and that many others corresponded privately with Pope John Paul.

Father Adam Boniecki, former editor of the Polish edition of L’Osservatore Romano, countered that Pope John Paul and Dr. Poltawska had a strong relationship, like that of a brother and sister-- akin to that of St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane Francis de Chantal.

Meanwhile, Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, is asking Poltawska to send photocopies of the entire correspondence to Rome, to be reviewed by officials involved in the cause for beatification of the late Pontiff. Italian journalists have reported that the progress toward beatification of John Paul II has bogged down, in part because of questions raised by the Poltawska correspondence.

Another factor reportedly delaying the investigation, Vatican-watchers report, is the reluctance of Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the longtime Secretary of State, to testify before the investigating commission. Cardinal Sodano, according to several accounts, has reservations about the accelerated process of the investigation; he remains a powerful influence within the Roman Curia.

Also Cardinal Leonardo Sandri has not yet testified, Italian journalists report. Cardinal Sandri, who is now prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, was Cardinal Sodano's top deputy, the sostituto, or assistant Secretary of State, from 2000 to 2007. The sostituto supervises virtually all of the paperwork flowing through the Roman Curia, and in that capacity then-Archbishop Sandri met with the Pontiff daily.

No scandal. See this article:

Pope John Paul's beatification delayed, Italian newspapers say

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The beatification of Pope John Paul II may be delayed as the Vatican seeks more documentation regarding his almost 27 years as pope, Italian newspapers reported in late May.

According to the newspaper La Stampa, the chief holdup regards hundreds of letters he wrote before and after his election to Wanda Poltawska, a longtime friend and adviser to the pope.

Meanwhile, the newspaper Il Giornale reported that a commission of theologians meeting in mid-May decided the information contained in the official "positio," or position paper, was not complete enough. In particular, the newspaper cited the fact that Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of state under Pope John Paul, and Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, his deputy at the time, had not given testimony in the case.

Neither newspaper quoted any of the commission members by name nor included comments from current officials of the Congregation for Saints' Causes.

Passionist Father Ciro Benedettini, vice director of the Vatican press office, said June 1 there would be no official comment from the Vatican while the process was under way.

Dominican Father Daniel Ols, the Vatican's chief investigator for Pope John Paul's cause, told the Italian news agency ANSA June 1 that the process was proceeding with the Vatican's normal, cautious pace.

Pope Benedict XVI waived the five-year waiting period for the cause to begin, Father Ols said, "but at the same time, he wants the work to be done well and with maximum accuracy."

La Stampa published an interview with Poltawska June 1 in which she said she met Father Karol Wojtyla, the future pope, in 1950 when she was looking for a confessor and spiritual director to guide her in the long process of recovering from her internment as a political prisoner in the Nazis' Ravensbruck concentration camp, where medical experiments were performed on prisoners.

Along with her husband and often with their children, "we shared interests, important moments, spirituality and that love for nature that we experienced camping in the mountains of southern Poland and even in the golden cage that was (the papal villa at) Castel Gandolfo," after his election as pope in 1978, she said.

"From the first time I met him I knew he would become a saint," Poltawska said. "His holiness was evident; he radiated an interior light that was impossible to hide."

Poltawska said she has a "suitcase full of his letters," written over the course of 55 years.

"I cannot tell you how many I gave to the beatification cause," because she took an oath of secrecy regarding the cause, she said. "I did not destroy any of them. I selected some and decided to publish them in Poland, even though some people did not agree," she said.

“Wanda Poltawska, a longtime friend and adviser to the pope.”

There’s nothing written anywhere to indicate anything other than a friendship but all it takes is a rumor. Look what they did to Pope Pius XII. Anyway, I guess we’re lucky it wasn’t a William, Joe or Pete... sarc/

Here’s how one of them are spinning it:

Wanda Poltawska, an 87-year-old psychiatrist, said the
relationship started in the 1950s when she sought a priest for spiritual support in overcoming the trauma that she suffered during almost four years at the Ravensbrueck concentration camp.
http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/39725687.html

That’s what people will focus on - have a look at the picture they posted... Yeah, I’m a wee bit paranoid.

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