Cardinal Dziwisz recalls Pope John Paul II on 5^th death anniversary

(April 2, 2010) As the world remembers Pope John Paul II on his 5th death anniversary on Good Friday, there is an unbroken chain of pilgrims still visiting the late Pope’s tomb in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica and clamouring for his sainthood, noted the former Pontiff's personal secretary. Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, formerly John Paul II's secretary and currently archbishop of Krakow, Poland, affirmed this in an interview with Italian Catholic daily, ‘Avvenire’. The cardinal was in Rome to concelebrate a memorial Mass with Pope Benedict XVI, on Monday evening, March 29, in St. Peter's Basilica. Since the death anniversary this year fell on Good Friday, the commemorative Mass was anticipated to March 30.
Speaking to’ Avvenire’, Cardinal Dziwisz recalled John Paul II's funeral on April 8, 2005, when a wind swept through and turned the pages of the Gospel that was on top of the coffin. "That wind is still blowing," he added, noting that the unbroken chain of faithful who pray before the mortal remains of John Paul II has not stopped. Every day his tomb is "the goal of a continuous pilgrimage," explained the Pontiff's former companion of more than 40 years. "And when I go to different areas of the world, I notice that his figure is still alive," he continued. "People want to hear one talk about him; they want to reflect further on his teaching," said the cardinal. He added, "Certainly, history continues and the faithful have great esteem and affection for Benedict XVI, but they don't forget his predecessor."
For Cardinal Dziwisz, the 5th anniversary of the April 2 death has "a very special meaning" as it coincided with Good Friday this year. In this sense, he referred to the "last Way of the Cross” at Rome’s Colosseum which the sick Pope John Paul followed from his private Chapel. The cardinal recalled: "He was spiritually with the multitude of the Colosseum, but his gaze was directed at the crucifix. Everyone saw him on television, filmed from behind, bent by suffering and immersed in prayer." "And everyone understood that he was offering his sacrifice uniting it to Christ's," the prelate added. "In this last Way of the Cross was summarized his whole life, all his pastoral ministry." "He had begun his pontificate inviting all to open the doors to Christ. And he concluded it opening the doors of the world to Christ Crucified," Cardinal Dziwisz noted. The cardinal affirmed: "We must reflect again on this. Above all today, at a time when the Church is living a profound suffering." In fact, Cardinal Dziwisz recalled how the Church responded when the cases of pedophilia broke out in the United States in the first years of 2000. "John Paul II faced the problem with determination doing everything that had to be done in collaboration with the civil judicial authorities," he said.
Cardinal Dziwisz said that Pope Benedict XVI is also moving in the same line and his letter to the Irish bishops represents a strong, courageous and effective response. The cardinal affirmed that "we must do justice to the victims, even if it is cases of the past." "But at the same time," he said, "we must defend the image of the Church, which is subjected to ferocious and unjustified attacks to the point of implicating the Holy Father himself."