It was 1957. That was the year, when I met Father Karol Wojtyła – professor of moral theology, for the first time. He immediately impressed me, especially his great piety, wisdom, wonderful lectures, but also the ability to make contacts. On the one hand, we and our colleagues felt a certain distance, resulting from his deep inner life, and extremely extensive intellectual preparation, on the other hand we experienced the immense closeness and exceptional ease with which he opened people, to have a relationship with the other person. In December 1956, Father Wojtyła took over the ethics department at the Catholic University of Lublin, where he had previously taught. He also continued to teach at the Krakow’s Seminary.
I remember how he was teaching principia, preliminary subjects, philosophical basics introducing into moral theology on my third year of studies. These lectures were not easy, although he was preparing them very precisely, I would with perfection. In those classes we learned the basics of philosophy, which later allowed us to conduct in-depth studies. Various numerous duties increasingly absorbed Father Wojtyła. Merely at the age of thirty-eight, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Krakow.
He was fulfilling this mission with great dedication. When we were on the sixth year, he stopped teaching. Due to the excess of work he had to give up teaching. After the death of Archbishop Eugieniusz Baziak, Bishop Karol Wojtyła, as the Vicar Capitular, took over the responsibility for the entire diocese.
Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz – “Testimony”
TBA Publisher, Warszawa 2007
