Pope tells Polish bishops their holiness is tool for evangelization

Published: 2005-12-05

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Holding Pope John Paul II up as an example, Pope Benedict XVI told Polish bishops their own witness of holiness is an essential tool for evangelization. Pope John Paul's "sense of responsibility for the church and for the believers entrusted to a bishop's care is a model and stimulus for us," the pope said Dec. 3 during a meeting with bishops from southern Poland. The bishops were in Rome for their "ad limina" visits, which they make every five years to report on the status of their dioceses. Catholics in southern Poland are particularly tied to Pope John Paul, since he was born in the region and ministered there as an auxiliary bishop and as archbishop of Krakow. His former longtime secretary, Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, appointed archbishop of Krakow after Pope John Paul's death, told reporters in Rome that the possible miracle needed for the late pope's beatification may have been found and would be submitted to Vatican investigators.

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