Pope John Paul II's Last Will and Testament

VATICAN CITY (AP) - The following is an English translation of the official Vatican Italian translation of the text of Pope John Paul II's last will and testament, which was originally written in Polish, dated June 3, 1979, with successive additions:

The testament of 6.3.1979

Totus Tuus ego sum (Latin for "I am completely in Your hands")

In the Name of the Holiest Trinity. Amen.

"Keep watch, because you do not know which day when the Lord will come" (Matthew 4, 42) - These words remind me of the final call, which will come the moment that the Lord will choose. I desire to follow Him and desire that all that is part of my earthly life shall prepare me for this moment. I do not know when it will come, but, like all else, this moment too I place into the hands of the Mother of My Master: Totus Tuus. In the same maternal hands I place All those with whom my life and vocation are bound. Into these Hands I leave above all the Church, and also my Nation and all humanity. I thank everyone. To everyone I ask forgiveness. I also ask prayers, so that the Mercy of God will loom greater than my weakness and unworthiness.

During spiritual exercises I reflected upon the testament of the Holy Father Paul VI. This study has led me to write the present testament.

I leave behind me some property which necessitates disposal. Regarding those items of daily use of which I made use, I ask that they be distributed as may appear opportune. My personal notes are to be burned. I ask that Don Stanislaw (his personal secretary, Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz) oversees this and thank him for the collaboration and help so prolonged over the years and so comprehensive. All other thanks, instead, I leave in my heart before God Himself, because it is difficult to express them.

Regarding the funeral, I repeat the same disposition given by the Holy Father Paul VI. (Notes in margin): Burial in the bare earth, not in a tomb, 13.3.92 (March 13, 1992).
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By VICTOR L. SIMPSON
VATICAN CITY (AP) - The late Pope John Paul II suggested in his last will and testament that he considered the possibility of resigning in 2000, at a time when he was already ailing and when the Roman Catholic Church began its new millennium.

The document, which the Vatican released Thursday, also said he had left no material property and asked that all his personal notes be burned. It mentioned only two living people: his personal secretary and the chief rabbi of Rome who welcomed him to Rome's synagogue in 1986.

The Polish-born pope, who died Saturday at the age of 84, also had considered the possibility of a funeral in Poland, but later left it up to the College of Cardinals to decide. The pope will be buried under St. Peter's Basilica on Friday after a funeral in the square.

John Paul wrote the testament over the course of his 26-year pontificate, starting in 1979, the year after he was elected. It was written in his native Polish and translated by the Vatican into Italian.

Writing in 2000, the pope, who suffered from Parkinson's disease and crippling hip and knee ailments, suggested the time was one of apparent torment for him, mentioning the 1981 attempt on his life. He called his survival a "miracle."

He said he hoped the Lord "would help me to recognize how long I must continue this service to which he called me the day of 16 October, 1978."

He also prayed at the time that he would have the "necessary strength" to continue his mission as long as he was serving as pope.

John Paul mentioned only two people in his will. They were his personal secretary, Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, whom he thanked profusely for his years of service. And in recalling various Christian and non-Christians for thanks, he singled out "the rabbi of Rome" - a reference to the former chief rabbi of Rome, Elio Toaff, who hosted John Paul during the pontiff's historic visit to Rome's central synagogue in 1986.

It was the first time a pope had ever visited a synagogue. Toaff paid his respects when he viewed John Paul's body on Monday, raising his arm in a gesture of tribute





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Contrast the words of this humble man, his self-assessment, with the characterizations of John Paul II provided by liberals in recent days.

Thomas Cahill labeled the Pope an "enthusiastic condemner" in his April 5, NYT column, assigning him with the potential legacy of "destroying his church."

Harold Meyerson, in yesterday's Washington Post, charges John Paul II with misogyny and homophobia. He warns of how the Pope's "Orthodox International marches forth to do battle against liberalism, invoking ancient beliefs against the claims of a common humanity."

Until now, I really didn't understand how threatening these liberals believed the Pope was. I knew people like Cahill were severely critical of John Paul, but I didn't realize the depth of their negativity.

The Pope, a man asking for forgiveness and acknowledging personal weakness in his last will and testament, is demonized by his liberal critics as an enemy of humanity.

Sad.