Who pulls my strings? Well not Ratzinger for sure..
I will admit JP2 did some great things at the start of his office - all this globetrotting and reconciliation to every nation on the planet was really good - I commend him thoroughly for that. It raised the profile of the Church enormously. But come on, the old boy was gaga towards the end. And he did away with Vatican II. Or rather Ratzinger advised him too.
I too didn’t see eye to eye with JPII all along the way (but then I’m not Catholic so that isn’t a surprise) but I think it’s presumptive to think he was being manipulated at any point. I give JPII credit for being a significant part of what I call the “Holy Triad” of Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and JPII that eventually brought down the USSR.