160 PIOTR H. KOSICKI
less felt it his duty to enter public life following Gomułka’s return
to power, with a mission of reconciling church and state in Com-
munist Poland. As he would explain in a November 1962 private
audience with John XXIII, “I play the role of a mediator between
the government and the Church, and I often mediate between
Władysław Gomułka and Cardinal Wyszyński.” To this, the pope
would reply, “That must be a difficult role to play—yet at once also
beautiful.”101
By the time that Vatican II opened, this mission seemed
doomed to fail. The mutual respect and support shown each oth-
er by Gomułka and Wyszyński in the fall of 1956 quickly turned
to a tug of war between church and state over grassroots activism
in Communist Poland. Of particular concern to the PZPR was the
Great Novena, which was proving wildly successful in mobilizing
crowds of pilgrims.
In Zawieyski’s eyes, however, Vatican II brought the perfect
opportunity to wipe the slate clean. There had been no diplomatic
relations between the Holy See and Poland since September 1945,
when the new Temporary Government of National Unity uni-
laterally abrogated the concordat of 1925.102 Given the warmth
shown Pope John XXIII by Communist leaders worldwide, Za-
wieyski sought to pave the way for an agreement involving the
Holy See, the Polish episcopate, and the PZPR. Other ZNAK activ-
ists who spent time in Rome during the Council joined Zawieyski
in his quest.
The playwright-turned-politician was in the unique position
of being able to backdoor his own primate in private papal au-
diences, first with John XXIII and then with Paul VI. Their ex-
changes are immensely telling—particularly because Zawieyski
was delivering messages from the Polish Communist leader to
the Roman pontiff. Before leaving Warsaw for Rome to attend
- Zawieyski, Dzienniki, 2:205.
- Żaryn, Kościół a władza w Polsce, 88–144.