Pope John Paul II[to Stanislaw] The American's want to know if the Vatican has a secure line. A secure line, what is - what is that?
[Dziwisz shrugs, meaning he has no idea]
Played by Jon Voight
Pope John Paul II · 47 quotes
Most-quoted character in Pope John Paul II: in 14 of its 47 quotes
Most scenes with: Agostino Cardinal Casaroli (5), Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz (4), Roman (2)
Lines by Pope John Paul II 1
Pope John Paul IIScenes with Pope John Paul II 13
EWEmilia Wojtyła
My little Lolek, you are a silly goose. The world is complicated, Lolek. God is simple.
Pope John Paul IIHoly Mary... My mother...
EWEmilia Wojtyła
I'll show you a simple way. One, two, three. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Now you.
Pope John Paul IIOne... Two... Three...
Pope John Paul IIIt's strange how much I miss it.
What, Holiness?
Pope John Paul IIHiking, kayak trips. By now the Tatras must be covered in snow.
Pope John Paul IIMy dear Casaroli. According to the rules, I need a Secretary of State.
Yes you do. And I would be happy to assist in the matter as I had the honour of serving Pope Paul VI.
Pope John Paul IIAnd that is why I want you to be my Secretary of State.
Oh. Holiness, no, no, no. Those were other times. I would be inadequate. You don't need me.
Pope John Paul IIBut I do.
But why?
Pope John Paul IIYou are tactful in ten languages, a master diplomat, deeply loyal. And as I have noticed on occasion, you have strongly held opinions that would not necessarily agree with mine. With God's blessing between the two of us, the scales will balance.
[pause. Casaroli smiles]
Pope John Paul IIDone. [they shake hands]
[to the pope] Be cautious with matters dealing with religious freedom.
[meeting with Andrei Gromyko]
AGAndrei Gromyko
Five minutes. I believe the Catholic church cause great importance to the strengthened of peace, to the supplement, and to the liquidation of weapons of mass destruction.
Pope John Paul IIYes, yes. We are in accord with all of that, of course. But, Mr. Gromyko, let me ask you one thing. Is it possible that the obstacles to religious freedom have not been entirely removed from every area of your country?
[Gromyko turns to talk to his associates, he turns back to the pope]
AGAndrei Gromyko
From the earliest days, the Soviet state has guaranteed freedom of religious belief.
[pause]
Pope John Paul IIThat is more or less what they thought.
In the next thirty days, you have twenty nine separate speaking engagements.
And you've emphasized how you must finish your first and second one.
Pope John Paul IINevertheless. The mission of the church is to implement the precepts of Vatican II.
But I implore, your Holiness. Could we start implementing it somewhere other than Mexico?
Pope John Paul IIPerhaps Poland.
[pause] Anywhere but Mexico and Poland.
Pope John Paul IIMexico is constitutionally anticlerical. For one hundred years priests and nuns have not been allowed to wear their robes and habits in public. Can you imagine? In Mexico, the church does not exist... [accidentally knocks off a piece of cheese from his plate. He goes down to pick it up while his aide tries to get it for him] In Puebla, in January. The Latin American bishop's conference is taking place. We should send someone, don't you think?
Yes, Holiness. But that someone does not have to be you.
Pope John Paul IIBut it could be.
Well, may I remind, your Holiness, [the pope puts the piece cheese back onto his plate] that the Holy See does not have relations with Mexico and may I make one other point: We have not been invited.
Pope John Paul IIMy dear Casaroli. You're a man of great wisdom and imagination.
[the pope's aide, who is standing behind, nervous that the pope will knock the piece of cheese off his plate again, quickly grabs the cheese from his plate]
Well, I imagine that we could avoid the problem entirely if you went as a private citizen.
Pope John Paul II[looking around the table] Did you see my cheese?
Pope John Paul IIFriendship is one of God's greatest gifts. A rare place where the truth is spoken.
Then you and I must speak just the way we used to. Plain and simple.
Pope John Paul IIPlain and simple?
All right. Well like, I have many friends in Jerusalem who ask "when will you recognise the states of Israel?"
Pope John Paul IIPlain and simple.
Forgive me, Karol. I know, sometimes I can be a little appraisive--
Pope John Paul II[stops Roman] That day, when you stood on the back of the Nazi truck, a gun at your back. [tearfully] You gave me the gift of your courage, and I will never forget it.
[they embrace]
[arriving in Warsaw, Poland]
Pope John Paul IIYour advice?
You're a pope who cannot help his nature. You will tell the truth, and I will support you.
[Cardinal Wyszyński walks up the platform, embraces the pope and kisses his hand]
Welcome home, Father Karol. Holiness, your people are in the streets waiting to greet you.
Pope John Paul IIMy primary task is to lead the church into a new millennium. A world without war, a world of greater social justice. A world where Christian's are unified, and to help me accomplish this. My dear friend, Cardinal Ratzinger. I wish to appoint you Prefect for the Doctrine of the Faith.
CJCardinal Joseph Ratzinger
Holiness, I am deeply honoured. But I have many commitments in Germany.
Pope John Paul IIYou know my fondness for Poland. How much I wish to remain in Kraków. But sometimes God calls us to faraway places.
Pope John Paul II[on President Reagan] And so, we decided to work together, to do our best to make that dream come true.
And part of that dream is Poland.
Pope John Paul II[pause] I must return.
In these times, Holiness, that can be difficult. Perhaps unwise.
Pope John Paul IIThe Communists have imposed Martial law, while Lech is rested. I must go back to keep the dialogue open! To prevent bloodshed!
We care about your blood! There are unconfirmed reports that the man who shot you, was hired by the Communist party of Bulgaria.
Pope John Paul II[stops Casaroli, pause] I must speak with Wałęsa.
[sighs] I will arrange it, Holiness. But it will be unofficial. [smiles]
Pope John Paul II[smiles] Thank you very much. [laughs]
LWLech Wałęsa
I don't know what to do.
Pope John Paul IIYou must fight. You must call by name: what is good, what is evil. And you must fight for your freedom.
LWLech Wałęsa
Do they think you'd say something like that?
Pope John Paul IIYou must be tough. You must be very tough. But you cannot hate and you must not kill.
LWLech Wałęsa
[pause] We all have such anger for these Communists. They have hurt so many friends, ruined families.
Pope John Paul III know. I also know with God's love, one day this will end and then we must find ways to forgive. [pause] Forgiveness is God's might.
Pope John Paul II[seated, frail, looking out at the view of the mountains] Stanislaw, Stanislaw. [Dziwisz walks over to him. He points] Do you remember?
Yes, Holiness. Yes, I do.
Do you feel up to it?
Pope John Paul II[sickly] I must.
If you don't, they will understand.
Pope John Paul III will speak to them.
[Dziwisz holds his hand]
Uncle Karol.
Pope John Paul II[sickly] I am too old to be an uncle.
God bless you for all you have done on this earth.
More Pope John Paul II characters
All Pope John Paul II quotes →
These quotes come from Wikiquote's Pope John Paul II pages and are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.