After the fall of Communism in eastern Europe the files of the various spy agencies and secret police were opened up, but there was so much in them it will take decades to clear out. So we can expect revelations from them to appear from time to time.
It’s also no surprise that one of the most important targets of spying would be Pope John Paul, even before he was elected Pope, because he was obviously a dangerous man for the Commies. A few months ago, some news broke that a Polish Dominican working in the Vatican used to pass information to the Polish secret police about John Paul. Fr. Konrad Hejmo denied being a spy, but said that some acquaintances may have passed on innocent information he revealed about the goings on in the Vatican, and that it was fairly common for priests to be cultivated by spies who pumped them for information while they remained in the dark about where the information was going.
But The American Spectator has an article that may cast doubt on Hejmo’s story. The article reviews the entirety of the spying program against John Paul, but in relation to Hejmo it notes that Hejmo was listed as a “full-fledged ‘secret collaborator,’” that he was looking for permission to start a Dominican periodical that was sympathetic to the regime, and that he was paid for his efforts.
It’s only one case of the espionage against the pope, but it is a very interesting look at how the Communists saw him as an enemy to be watched. It’s also amusing how they completely failed and were defeated by him.
Technorati Tags: Communism, Poland, pope john paul ii, spies, vatican
Or Montini? Alice von Hildebrand’s exposition of the exposure of the various missionaries sent into the Eastern Bloc…and their systematic exposure and liquidation when G.B. Montini served in the Vatican Secretariat of State…is rather compelling. And, oh yes, quite troubling.