Winner of the 2004 The New York Festivals
Grand Award for Best Documentary Gold Medal for Best Biography/Profile
He is disputably the most famous person in the world, and has been seen in person by more human beings than anyone else in history. Pope John Paul II is the spiritual leader of one billion Roman Catholics.
This revealing 3-part documentary begins with a look at the life of Karol Wojtyla in Poland before he became Pope. His Jewish neighbour and childhood friend Jerzy Kluger describes the Pope's early years, which included the tragic deaths of his mother, brother and father. Halina Krolkiewicz, his leading lady in numerous school-year theatrical productions, describes the onset of the Second World War and Wojtyla's decision to become a priest. His fellow seminarian Mieczyslaw Malinski speaks about the Nazi occupation of Poland, and the secret seminary where they studied.
Following his ordination in 1946, Fr. Wojtyla rose steadily through the ranks of the Church as he continued his ministry in Poland, his theologic studies and teaching, and authored several highly respected publications, becoming Bishop, and then Archbishop of Krakow, and, in 1967, Cardinal. In 1978, his election as Pope surprised many. His Papacy has brought many controversial changes to the Church. His central teachings on the matters of sex, contraception, divorce, homosexuality and abortion have been widely debated, and largely ignored by the vast majority of his flock.
Interviews with Mikhail Gorbachev, Henry Kissinger, Wojciech Jaruzelski, Lech Walesa, Zbigniew Brzezinski provide a behind-thescenes look at the Pope's crucial role in the power politics that led to the fall of Communism in 1989. Through the 1980s, Pope John Paul II met regularly with the head of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, William Casey, and participated in what former U.S. National Security Advisor Richard Allen calls “the greatest secret alliance in history” between the Vatican and the Reagan Administration.
This Special Collector's Edition includes the complete 3-part documentary:
* LIFE STORY
* THE POPE AND HIS ROLE IN THE FALL OF COMMUNISM
* A CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE
BONUS INTERVIEWS *English only
• Charles Curran, theologian
• Hans Kung, theologian
• Marco Politi, biographer
• Sister Theresa Kane, Leadership Conference of Women Religious
• Francis Cardinal Arinze, Cardinal
• Henry Kissinger, political advisor
• Zbigniew Brzezinski, former U.S. National Security Advisor
