Whether John Paul II knew about Michelangelo’s intervention with the Pope related to his request for Julius II to force the Cardinals responsible for the finances of the Holy See to pay the due amount to his employees, I do not know. However, one thing is certain. At the beginning of the eighties, Polish Pope, animated by the spirit of the newly formed “Solidarność” (“Solidarity”), wanted to take care of the rights of his subordinates here in the Vatican. Founded shortly thereafter – back in 1982 – with his approval – the Association of Lay Workers of the Vatican, Associazione dei Dipendenti Laici Vaticani (ADLV), was one of the most innovative steps for the Vatican institutions and the thousands of people employed in them. In addition to Demettria, a multitude of other workers immediately enrolled in the Vatican trade union; at the end of the eighties, out of one thousand eight hundred employees in the association, there were one thousand three hundred and sixty people.
This is just one example of actions aimed at improving the functioning of Vatican institutions that John Paul II undertook as the head of the smallest state in the world. The director of the printing house, Mr. Maggiotto, was on the front lines of these reforms.
Magdalena Wolińska-Riedi “It happened in the Vatican”
Znak Publishing House. Krakow 2020
Pages: 70 – 71
