The attack on John Paul II carried out in Poland in recent weeks by two liberal media outlets – TVN television and Agora, the publisher of left-leaning national newspaper “Gazeta Wyborcza” – is based primarily on a broad presentation of manipulatively selected historical material, details of which have previously already been honestly reported by journalists researching the history of the Catholic Church during the communist dictatorship. 

As far as the unfolding of the ongoing “scandal” is concerned, two works are crucial here. The first is a book by Ekke Overbeek, a Dutch journalist working in Poland, entitled “Maxima culpa. John Paul II knew”, and the second is a TV report by Marcin Gutowski entitled “Franciszkańska 3”. 

Both authors, according to their declarations, undertook a pioneering analysis of the actions of Bishop Karol Wojtyla in relation to cases of paedophile priests active during his time as Bishop of Krakow. In reality,…