Krzysztof Bronk – Vatican
For our freedom and yours
The Pope admitted that he welcomed the Polish airmen with an open heart and with a full understanding of who they are and whom they represent. “You represent a great community, sons of a nation who, during World War II, confirmed what has become a proverb: for our freedom and yours.”
Polish airmen defended England
John Paul II also recalled what the then Archbishop of Westminster, John Heenan, told Polish bishops during the council: “Polish airmen defended England.”
This truth cannot be erased from Polish hearts
“So the truth of these words ‘for our freedom and yours’ – the Pope continued – was also confirmed during World War II. And I think this is one of those truths that are not easy to erase from the history of our nation and Polish hearts. And it is in the spirit of this historical truth that I warmly welcome you and thank you for your presence.”
It cost us so much
The Pope admitted that realizing this truth cost a lot. Many of your colleagues – he said – died during the war, many others were disabled for life. After this struggle, many widows and orphans remained.
That’s why we know what values are
“This path is not easy. It costs a lot, but also where much is paid, values are felt particularly deeply – said John Paul II. – If our nation, everywhere, both in the Homeland and beyond its borders, deeply feels values, it is precisely because it has paid so much for them throughout history, especially in recent centuries.”
Contribution to Christian civilization
The Pope emphasized that this also includes the special contribution of Polish airmen to the history of the nation, “to the cause of its freedom, to the confirmation of the right to its freedom, and also at the same time to the history of Christianity, to the confirmation and development of Christian culture and civilization not only of our nation, but of our entire continent and, in a way, the whole world.”
These are my roots
John Paul II also referred to the fact that this day, October 16, 1980, marked the second anniversary of his election to the See of Peter. He admitted that it is a day when he thinks about how much he owes to the Church in Poland and to his compatriots. He emphasized that the election of a Pole as Pope took place through the Holy Spirit, but also “on the ground, on the foundation of this entire special Polish and Christian tradition, it grew out of the contribution that, over the millennium, and especially perhaps in recent centuries and recent decades, Poland has made and continues to make to the great spiritual treasury of Christianity and the Church.”
The power of the word
The most important recordings from the pontificate of St. John Paul II are available on a separate YouTube playlist and as a separate podcast on Spotify. A collection of 129 catecheses by John Paul II on the theology of the body is also available. We encourage you to listen to the teachings of the Holy Pope to experience the power of his word.
