The aim of the academic session was to show the role of accessing archival documents and their proper interpretation in explaining the actions of communist special services against John Paul II. The first part of the session was devoted to the years when Karol Wojtyła was the Archbishop of Krakow. In March of the current year, Polish media featured voices accusing Wojtyła of hiding pedophilia cases. The accusers relied on the archives of communist secret services. This issue also gained attention in the international press. Prof. Łucja Marek from the Institute of National Remembrance has been dealing for many years with the problem of surveillance of the Church in Poland by communist secret services. Her public debates in Poland in connection with the allegations helped to understand how much depends on the proper hermeneutics of reading these documents and knowing the context of their production. These explanations showed that the allegations against Wojtyła are unfounded. Prof. Marek’s speech during the session shed light on this topic. It was also an opportunity to ask questions and receive expert answers. Other employees of the Institute of National Remembrance, including the director of Archives, Dr. Marzena Kruk, also took part in the session.
The second part of the session was a presentation of the book “Agca was not alone.” The publication outlines the results of the investigation into the assassination attempt on John Paul II on May 13, 1981, conducted by the Institute of National Remembrance from 2006 to 2014. As a result of this investigation, new previously unknown documents from the archives of communist special services were accessed. Based on them, the extensive preparations for the assassination and efforts to cover up traces and misinform the public were demonstrated. Based on the collected archival material, new leads concerning the assassination attempt on John Paul II can be pointed out today. In this part of the session, Michał Skwara, the prosecutor leading the investigation, spoke, as well as historians Andrzej Sznajder and Andrzej Grajewski from the Institute of National Remembrance, who also answered participants’ questions.
The academic session was co-organized by the Faculty of History and Cultural Heritage of the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Vatican Foundation of John Paul II, and the Institute of National Remembrance. The heads of these institutions: Vitor Delio J. de Mendonça SJ, Msgr. Paweł Ptasznik, Dr. Mateusz Szpytma spoke at the beginning of the meeting. In conclusion, an agreement on cooperation between the Institute of National Remembrance and the John Paul II Foundation was signed, which includes the Center for Documentation and Study of the Pontificate located in Rome at Via Cassia 1200 equipped with a library and archive.
