Warsaw, Poland, Jul 11, 2004 / 22:00 pm
The Polish Catholic news agency, KAI, has announced a new book by Pope John Paul II is currently “being edited” and that it will be based on an interview with Pope conducted by Fr. Jozef Tischner in 1984 on philosophical and existential questions.
The report includes statements by Fr. Pawel Ptasznik, director of Polish section of the Vatican Secretariat of State, who said the book “appears to by ready for publication.”
“It is a long process and it may not be published in the immediate future,” Fr. Ptasznik told KAI, adding that “regarding its content, I can only say that reports that it will focus on the problems of totalitarianism are not true.”
Fr. Ptasznik recalled that “it is well-known secret that some years ago, Fr. Jozef Tischner requested an interview with the Pope about philosophical and existential questions,” adding that “if I am not mistaken, the interview took place in the summer of 1984 and it was recorded.”
Fr. Tischner, a philosopher, theologian and author, was a close friend of the Pope and enjoyed long conversations with the Holy Father on such issues as human existence and freedom, as well as other philosophical questions. After a long battle with illness, he died in Krakow in June of 2000 at the age of 69.