World : Lech Walesa Pays Homage to Pope
VATICAN CITY — Lech Walesa knelt before Pope John Paul II twice today to thank him for keeping the spirit of Solidarity alive during the Warsaw government’s attempt to crush the free trade union.
Walesa’s initial homage to the Pope at the beginning of a 30-minute private audience went unrecorded by photographers, so the two men repeated their greeting for the cameras.
The Polish pontiff gave Solidarity’s leader a gift of a mosaic Madonna at the end of the audience in the Pope’s private study. “This is for President Lech and the reborn Solidarity,†he said.
The audience with the Pope was the central event of Walesa’s first trip abroad since the Polish government and the opposition signed a historic agreement on April 5 that paved the way for an era of liberalization.
“I’ve had my batteries recharged,†Walesa told a reporter after the audience. “Now I feel I can lift any weight.â€
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