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as I already posted-the decline was economic. The Pope gave the Polish moral support and Solidarity economic and logistic support (I know of a case were the Church helped smuggle in Xerox machines--a big deal when you don't have access to printers). But the Vatican did not start Solidarity nor did the Pope motivate the comming of Solidarity.

The late 70s were a disaster for the Eastern Bloc nations because of high oil prices--but not for Russia which exported oil to them. The Russians were able to hold on the communisim a little longer because of that. Russia was by then using the high price of oil as barter for a substitute to hard currency. When oil prices fell in the early 80s the barter system also began to collapse.

The Pope played the same role the Spanish kingdom played in helping the 13 colonies win against England. Very important but only important as part of the whole picture.

The way some describe it the Poles were not resisting Communisim till this Pope paid Poland a visit. That is not the case.

By my saying the Pope was not the main reason for the fall of communisim does not distract the important SUPPORTING role the Pope and the Vatican played on the sidelines of the final decade of the Cold War.

That the failed communist economic system was the fuel for revolt against the communists is confirmed by the fact that after Solidarity failed in power the Polish communists now renamed were voted into office again and is the current ruling party.

But your must recognize that a good number of the citizens of the captive nations praticed religion in opposition to their respective atheist regimes. To suggest that countries such as Poland or Lithuania (the first to go) did not see overt expression of Catholicism as the means toward revolution is simply not true. These people sang religious hymns and brought down the beast.

Actually, all you need to know about what the Pope meant to Poland was to recall the first meeting he had withGen. Jaruzelsky, the leader of Poland at the time. When the General stepped up to the microphone to speak, his hands were shaking so bad he couldn't read the papers he was holding. He was completely and totally intimidated by the Pope.

That is how Poland felt about the Pope, and there can be no doubt he and the church was a driving force.