John Paul II: Cardinal Karol Wojtyla

Wojtyla Dept: When a man is catapulted to the top of a church of 1.2 billion people, unpredictable things happen to him and his country of origin. For good or ill, according to Montreal Gazette. Since John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope in 1,500 years, the world Catholics and the mass media had a field day probing the intricacies of Poland, including Wojtyla battle against Communist influence and if Ouellet is indeed elected pope at this month conclave, Canada Catholic roots and its supposedly polite, multi-faith culture increasingly will be thrust into the international spotlight. A media blitz struck Poland after native son Cardinal Karol Wojtyla became John Paul II in 1978. It happened to Germany when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.