This is CBSI and the world.

I'm John Batchel.

In Rome, all eyes on the Vatican and the choice of the next pope.

Mary Anastacio Grady, the Americas editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page,

joins to comment on one very large success if the conclave chooses a man who resembles in policy,

John Paul II.

Once upon a time in 1978, a man from Poland changed, I think, the whole world by confronting communism. And now, Mary,

a very good evening to you. John Paul II, what did he represent? What does he represent today

to not only the Roman Catholic Church, but to the people of Europe? What did he do?

Well, good evening, John. Yes. As you mentioned, he came in 1978, and remember that before

that he was the Archbishop of Krakow in Poland. And what was going on with the church at that

time was that the church had decided to pursue a policy of accommodation with the satellite countries of the Soviet Union.

So what they did was they sort of said, okay, we'll allow them a hand in nominating bishops.

We'll tone down our rhetoric, our anti-communist rhetoric.

We'll get rid of the people who are really strong against communism.

We'll get them out of senior positions in the Vatican.

And we'll encourage the laity in these countries to not be so confrontational with the regimes.

And as George Weigel, who was JP2's biographer, has noted, that policy was a failure in places

where it was tried like Hungary and Czechoslovakia, the Catholic Church became an arm of the regime.

And the one place where it wasn't put into practice was in Poland.

And he says that the Polish, both the Cardinal in Poland

and the Archbishop, John Paul II, Cardinal Voiti, basically pursued a policy of continuing to stand up for human rights in Poland.

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