Limestone Quarry Becoming a University Center

Karol Wojtyla's Former Workplace

KRAKOW, Poland, AUG. 18, 2002 (Zenit.org).- The old limestone quarry where Karol Wojtyla began to work at 19 is today a silent place, a huge open hole in the south of the city. But the Divine Mercy Shrine, which now dominates the scene with its ultramodern tower, is not the only change in the surrounding landscape.

On Saturday, after consecrating the shrine, John Paul II spent some time in another place near the quarry where he learned to appreciate the value of manual labor and the dignity of a worker during the Nazi occupation.

In the semi-vacant field, which John Paul II blessed in the presence of several hundred professors, an imposing library of the Pontifical Academy of Theology will soon be erected. The Holy Father founded this institution in 1981 following the 1950 closure of the theology department of Jagiellonian University by the Communist government.

There will soon be other buildings, as the field will become the new campus of the university, in which Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope, began to study philology. He studied until Hitler invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, and ordered the destruction of Polish culture, the closure of the university, and the deportation of professors to concentration camps.

The old stone quarry is becoming a scientific center; philosophy, theology, exact sciences and biomedical sciences will be studied here.

Rector Franciszek Ziejka reminded the Holy Father that in September 2000, «you said to us in Rome that Poland needs learned citizens, ready to sacrifice themselves for love of the homeland and the good of Europe. Here we are building that future.»

ZENIT Daily dispatch - The World Seen from Rome August 16, 2002 Wide-Ranging Discussion Held with Polish President

Sept. 11 Fallout and Country's Entry in European Union Among Topics

KRAKOW, Poland, AUG. 18, 2002 (Zenit.org).- At a meeting with Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, John Paul II urged a change in man's thinking in order to establish peace.

At their meeting Saturday, Kwasniewski also reported to the Pope on the negotiations for Poland's entry in the European Union, and explained that the country's economy is not developing as quickly as expected.

The two met in the residence of the archbishop of Krakow. In statements to the press, the Polish president said they talked about the consequences of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The Pope stressed the need for a change in man's thinking to halt the spiral of violence, the president said.

Kwasniewski, born in 1954, a former leader of Communist youth organizations, was a member of the executive committee of Communist organizations during the years when the Solidarity labor movement was at its height. He won the presidency in 1995, when Lech Walesa lost his bid for re-election.

His meeting with the Holy Father touched on Poland's unemployment rate (almost 20%), its economic slowdown, the education of youth, and the struggle against poverty, among other topics.

Kwasniewski commented on the Pope's intellectual acuity at age 82. He was impressed that the Holy Father «does not need papers» when addressing a topic.

John Paul II followed carefully the Polish president's report on the country's progress toward integration in the European Union. The Pope did not explicitly support the country's controversial entry in the EU.

Following his meeting with the president, John Paul II received Prime Minister Leszek Miller.

ZENIT - The World Seen from Rome
18. august 2002