Only by following Christ and accepting his teaching can we find adequate ways and criteria for building a future of unity and justice, the civilisati… - Giovanni Battista Re

(Visitng the Shrine of the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompei) The world expects much from the new pope, both in terms of a religious revival and because the world is troubled by a very serious problem, that of war in many countries. The war between Ukraine and the Russian Federation is having consequences throughout Europe. And then there is Gaza, the land where Christ was born and where the land itself cries out for peace, but peace is not there. We are going through a difficult time for humanity. And we hope that there will now be a recovery.

Interviewer: What was Wojtyla's role in the defeat of communism?

Cardinal Re: I had been in the Secretariat of State for eight years. With us was a Polish priest, Monsignor Jozef Kowalczyk. Four days after he was elected, he brought me the first homily written in Polish by John Paul II and translated into Italian by Poles, asking me to review it. I read and reread that text'.