– Has the Pope considered abdication?
– Sometimes there were such conversations at the Papal table. But rather in the form of a question whether, due to age-related restrictions and illness, he should abdicate. The Holy Father wanted to know the opinion of various personalities, secretary of state, Cardinals, Bishops. Everyone advised against it. They said that he was the Holy Father, and that means fulfilling the mission to the end. Some stressed that this would not be well received and misunderstood. They added that the faithful, seeing how despite suffering he performs his tasks, are more involved and more people come to Holy Masses with the participation of the Pope.
– In January 2005, one of the participants of the dinner talked about the dramatic situation at the Papal table: “There were only a few people at that time: Archbishop Stanisław Dziwisz, Monsignor Mieczysław Mokrzycki, Bishop Tadeusz Pieronek, Cardinal Andrzej Maria Deskur, Fr Czesław Drążek. The Holy Father could no longer speak normally. At some point, he began to choke. The secretaries immediately took the Pope in a wheelchair to a neighboring room to help him. After some time, they returned to the table. The Pope, however, again had difficulty speaking and breathing. We all froze at the table. The Pope swallowed something and began to choke again. He was clearly turning blue and it was evident that he was struggling to grasp the air.
Monsignor Mieczysław Mokrzycki tried to help the Holy Father by hitting the Pope’s neck quite strongly. This is what our grandmothers and mothers did. It really helped. Father Stanisław Dziwisz, trying to relieve the tension – we were all terrified – joked: “Mietek, you will fall into a curse, you cannot beat the Holy Father!” The improvement was short-lived. Again, the Holy Father began to suffocate. The secretaries again took the Holy Father to the next room. When they returned to the refectory, John Paul II spread his hands and said: “It is old age.”
– It was a dramatic experience, although I remember it a bit differently. At some point, the Holy Father actually choked. I saw that he stopped breathing. I looked at Fr. Stanislaus. He froze, sat as if paralyzed. Since he wasn’t reacting, I thought there was nothing to wait for.
I remembered the words of Dr. Buzzonetti, who said that it was necessary to immediately approach the Pope and hit his neck. It actually helped. When we were leaving after dinner, the Holy Father, wanting to relax the atmosphere, joked: “Mieciu, you should be careful who you beat!”.
Secretary of two Holy Fathers – conversation with Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki.
Wydawnictwo Literackie Publishing House
