Pope aide 'has not burned papers'

The personal secretary of the late Pope John Paul II says he has not burned the former pontiff's personal papers as the Pope had requested.
Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz said the papers were a great treasure and should be "saved and preserved for posterity".

He told Polish radio that the late Pope's notes should gradually be made available to the public.

He also suggested that they might help in the process of naming Pope John Paul as a saint.

Mr Dziwisz, who worked alongside the former Pope for almost 40 years, was named archbishop of Krakow by Pope Benedict XVI on Friday.

'Huge treasure'

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In Pope John Paul's testament made public shortly after his death, the pontiff said he had asked Archbishop Dziwisz to oversee the burning of his personal documents and notes.
However, in an interview with Polish public radio, he said he felt his devotion to the late pontiff and his teachings outweighed his responsibility to destroy the papers.

"Everything will be examined carefully and put in order," he said.

"None of it is fit to be burned. It is a great heritage, a huge treasure, great texts of a rich variety. All of it should be kept for posterity."

Archbishop Dziwisz said the documents had to be studied and in the long run, he hoped they might even be published and help in the process of John Paul being made a saint.

The archbishop said he had also kept his own copious notes about the late Pope and they, too, could be made public.

Archbishop Dziwisz became secretary to Karol Wojtyla, in 1966 when he was archbishop of Krakow, and remained at John Paul II's side throughout his pontificate.