Religious freedom is a fundamental human right guaranteed under Article 18 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
Around the world, many oppressive regimes oppose religious freedom as a threat to totalitarian
control over society.
The Liberation of a Continent tells the story of how faith and religious conscience was
expressed and encouraged by the leadership of John Paul II, who played a central role
in toppling Soviet Control over Eastern Europe during the Cold War.
Karol Wojtyła, who would become Pope John Paul II, grew up as a laborer in Nazi-occupied
Poland.
His experiences taught him firsthand about the suffering inflicted by totalitarianism
on the working class.
He disregarded both Nazi and Soviet attempts to eliminate Polish identity by continuing
his studies in an underground Polish seminary.
This was the beginning of a long career of faith-based resistance to Communist oppression
that would ultimately change the world.
"During this time, Wojtyła began studying in a secret seminary run by the Archbishop
of Krakow."
Following the war, a Soviet Communist puppet regime was established in Poland.
The government extended its oppressive control over every aspect of life and tried to eradicate
the deep faith of millions of Polish Catholics, as well as Jews and other religious minorities.
For his part, Wojtyła focused on educating youth by giving them precious zones of freedom
where they could freely discuss faith and other ideas banned by the Communist authorities.
While he was sent to Rome, the future Pope John Paul II played an important hand in the
drafting of the document of religious freedom in which he focused on the link between freedom
and truth, and the damage done to both people and society when they are not free to pursue
truth and live according to their conscience.
"His input was focused on this important question of the relation of freedom and truth."
As a Cardinal, the future pope challenged the Communist regime with his plans to build
a church in the Communist-created city of Nowa Huta, a Communist party bastion where
churches where banned.
He rose to public prominence by leading outdoor mass in defiance of the Soviet and Polish
authorities.
He ultimately succeeded with building his church, which still stands today as a symbol
of the religious freedom he accomplished there.
"A great achievement of John Paul, that he planted the ark of our Lord in the middle
of the so-called Worker's Paradise."
Protests against the Communist government dealing with price controls and unemployment
often did not endure because of divisions among the protestors.
Wojtyła helped unite these divisions by connecting to intellectuals and to the working people.
foundation on which the popular Solidarity Movement flourished.
After becoming pope, John Paul II became the visible and influential champion for millions
of victims of Soviet totalitarianism.
Whether Catholic or not, those who had previously suffered in silence were given hope that they
could resist Soviet oppression because of his courage and leadership rooted in his faith.
In so doing, Pope John Paul II unleashed forces ultimately more powerful than oppression itself.
The Solidarity Movement began as a shipyard strike that spread throughout all of Poland.
Because it put a severe strain on the Communist-run economy, the government was eventually forced
to meet their demands.
An agreement was signed, with an image of Pope John Paul II on it, symbolizing his influence
bringing about this victory.
The movement would last for years, and spread as similar movements in neighboring countries
as the people fought Communist governments.
"It was a fitting symbol for the moral force behind Solidarity."
After this event, Pope John Paul II was shot while greeting a crowd in St. Peter's Square
in Rome.
It is widely suspected that the Soviet Union was behind the assassination attempt.
"John Paul would later reflect, 'one hand fired, and another guided the bullet.'
He was convinced that he was saved by a miraculous intervention by the Virgin Mary."
But he survived, and continued to challenge Soviet tyranny, working with many other leaders
of the free world during the Cold War era, including Ronald Reagan.
During the pope's third papal visit to Poland, the Solidarity Movement was struggling.
Acting against the Communist government wishes, he met with the Solidarity leadership and
helped to revive it, leading to a push for free elections.
During the free election of Poland, every Communist member was voted out and replaced
by Solidarity members.
Inspired by events in Poland, people from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania symbolically
held hands across their borders, demanding human rights also be extended to their countries.
"Millions of people, holding hands through three countries..."
As symbols of resistance to Soviet oppression, John Paul II and Ronald Reagan were both responsible
for inspiring millions to resist Soviet tyranny.
So it's no accident that on the same day Reagan gave his famous "Tear Down That Wall" speech,
Karol Wojtyła was deep behind the Iron Curtain denouncing the invisible walls to faith and
freedom in his native Poland.
"John Paul II spoke about the unity of the human family, and how we are all brothers
and sisters of a common humanity.
What more could this pope do to set the foundation for what President Reagan would say six days
later in Berlin?"
"There is one sign the Soviets can make that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom
and peace.
Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.
At the end of the Cold War, when the Berlin Wall fell, it was not toppled by military
force, but by ideas that undermined the Soviet order.
The life of John Paul II is a tribute to the power of a few to overcome seemingly impossible
odds when armed with the principles of freedom.
John Paul II did help to liberate a continent because he gave expression to faith, conscience,
and fundamental rights of all humanity.