The hands of the clock heralded the beginning of a new day. It was Sunday, December 13, 1981. The first tanks appeared on the streets of Warsaw and at the main intersections. With the passage of time, the West, especially through radio stations, began to receive the first incomplete information. Someone in the Vatican tried to make contact with Poland, but none of that – the phones were deaf. Only later did we understand the reasons for this grave silence; Already before midnight, all lines of communication were broken. At the same time, the borders were closed. First from television and radio, more widely in the morning, after the official statement was announced at six o’clock, we learned that martial law had been introduced in Poland. It was a real shock. Naturally, we were afraid that this may be coming. In recent days, the fear of invasion has increased. Zbigniew Brzezinski called. We knew about the maneuvers of the Warsaw Pact forces, located on the Polish territory and that they are approaching the capital. However, no one expected such a turn of events. The Holy Father, too, upon hearing of what had happened, was surprised. Surprised and in pain. (…) For Poland it was a great humiliation. After so many sufferings that Poland experienced throughout history, it did not deserve another martyrdom, such an evil. (…) Late on the morning of December 13th, John Paul II, still deeply moved, addressed the faithful, repeating the word „solidarność” (“solidarity”) six times. Then, addressing the Mother of God (as if She were the interlocutor, and not the Kremlin), he explained various aspects of the social teaching of the Church, justice. Hence the idea of a prayer to Our Lady of Jasna Góra. With this prayer the Pope ended every Wednesday general audience. In the prayer, he recalled the right of his compatriots to freedom and to solve internal problems independently in accordance with their beliefs. That evening, at the end of dinner, the Holy Father told us: “Let us pray. Let us pray with joy. And, let us await the sign from Heaven.”
With the consent of Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz – “Testimony”.
TBA Publishing House marketing communication. Warsaw 2007
