Former secretary to two Popes releases new book
June 15, 2017
In a book based on his experiences as secretary to two Pontiffs, Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki reveals that St. John Paul II considered resignation as his health declined, but was persuaded to remain in office for the good of the Church.
Archbishop Mokrzycki, who now heads the Archdiocese of Lviv, Ukraine, served as private secretary to the Polish Pontiff and then to Pope Benedict XVI, in the years 1996- 2008. He relates that both Pontiffs routinely spent many hours in prayer. He writes in Secretary of Two Popes that Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI, who carefully preserved his privacy while in office, probably meets with more people socially today than when he was serving as Roman Pontiff.
The archbishop reports that Pope John Paul II sometimes asked advisers whether he should resign. “Everyone advised against it,” he says.
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