Wanda Półtawska was a collaborator and friend of John Paul II, a renowned physician and a great defender of the sanctity of marriage, the family and unborn life.

She was almost 102 years old. Her husband, professor of philosophy Andrzej Półtawski, died on October 29, 2020. Together they had 4 daughters.

Promoter of the sanctity of marriage and family

Wanda Półtawska was a physician, lecturer and disseminator of the teachings of John Paul II on the sanctity of marriage and the family. She was a member of the Pontifical Council for the Family and the Pontifical Academy pro Vita.

She was the author of almost four hundred publications in the field of psychiatry, the protection of unborn life, the sick and the elderly, the question of chastity and its importance, marriage and the family.

In 1967 she organized the Institute of Family Theology, which she directed for 33 years, training countless engaged couples, young married couples and priests. She also received numerous awards, including the papal medal "Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice" and an honorary doctorate from the Catholic University of Lublin and was made an honorary citizen of Lublin.

Prisoner in Ravensbrück concentration camp

Wanda Półtawska, née Wojtasik, was born on November 2, 1921 in Lublin. She attended the Ursuline Sisters' school in Lublin. Before 1939 and during World War II she was an active member of the Scouts.

When he was 15 years old, he became a leader of his group. After the outbreak of World War II, he joined a descout group providing auxiliary services and joined the underground struggle as a liaison, while at the same time participating in Polish education in secret. 

On February 17, 1941 she was arrested by the Lublin Gestapo and imprisoned in the Lublin Castle, where she was also interrogated and tortured.

On November 21, 1941 she was deported to the Ravensbrück concentration camp with a sentence of death 'in absentia'. She was the victim of pseudo-medical experiments (mainly surgical mutilation of limbs) carried out by German doctors, among them a Berlin professor, the president of the German Red Cross, Gebhardt, and doctors Fischer, Rosenthal and Oberheuser. Shortly before the end of the war, she was transported to the Neustadt-Glewe camp, where she remained until May 7, 1945.

A physician defender of the dignity of human life

After the war she moved to Krakow. On December 31, 1947 she married philosopher Andrzej Półtawski (1923-2020). They raised four daughters together. In 1951 she graduated in medicine from the Jagiellonian University and later obtained both specialist degrees and a doctorate in psychiatry (1964).

In the years 1952-1969 she was an assistant professor at the Psychiatric Clinic of the Medical University in Krakow, from 1955 to 1997 she was a professor of pastoral medicine at the Pontifical Faculty of Theology in Krakow and from 1964 to 1972 she worked at the Diagnostic-Treatment Faculty of the Chair of Psychology at the Jagiellonian University.

He conducted research on the so-called Auschwitz children, people who were sent to concentration camps as children. In April 1969 he left the Clinic to devote himself mainly to marriage and family counseling.

In 1995 she participated in a campaign to place a plaque in memory of the Polish women, prisoners of Ravensbrück and victims of the German doctors. Efforts to obtain permission from the camp-museum authorities began in early 1995, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the camp.

Due to the opposition of the German authorities of this camp to the idea of remembering the tragedy of the Polish women, the installation of the plaque was not allowed. Wanda Półtawska tenaciously insisted, that was a trait of her personality, the fortitude proper to an evangelical mulier fortis. After a year, in 1996, the German museum authorities put up the memorial plaque.

He participated in the work of the Commission for the Investigation of Nazi Crimes in Poland. He edited, with the collaboration of others, the Weekly of Catholic Families Źródła. He is the author of many publications in the field of pedagogy. He was a Kraków city councilor for 10 years. In 2010 he signed an open letter to the government of the Republic of Poland and the president against the organization of the Europride parade in Warsaw. The letter explained the rational reasons for opposing the legalization of same-sex relationships and the adoption of children by homosexual couples. It also stated that the actions of the LGBT community constitute an open attack on freedom of speech, belief and conscience.

In May 2014, she was the initiator and author of the text of the. Statement of faith of Catholic physicians and medical students on human sexuality and fertility..

Cured of cancer

The correspondence of 1962, addressed to the Italian Capuchin and later Catholic saint Padre Pio by Archbishop Karol Wojtyła, asking for prayers for the cure of Wanda Półtawska from cancer and the Pope's subsequent thanks for the effective intervention, is well known. The letter reads: Reverend Father. I ask your prayers for a forty-year-old woman and mother of four daughters from Krakow in Poland. During the last war she spent five years in a concentration camp in Germany, she is currently seriously ill with cancer and in danger of losing her life. May God, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, show his mercy to her and her family!

Professor Wanda Półtawska herself recalls that "years later, when the Bishop of Krakow was already in the See of Peter, I learned from the first man who delivered the letters that Padre Pio merely said, 'You can't say no to this.' I knew nothing about the letters from Archbishop. Karol Wojtyła. So I was in the hospital, preparing for serious surgery, after which I would have a chance to live for a year or a year and a half until the metastasis occurred. I did not pray for a miracle, but I was determined for the surgery as I wanted to live as long as possible, since I had small children. My friend Professor N., after examining me, said, 'Well, maybe there is a 5% chance that it is not cancer; we will know after the procedure.' But there was no surgery because at the last minute it turned out that the tumors had disappeared, so I thought it was 5%. It was only when I got home that I heard about these letters to Padre Pio, but honestly, I wasn't sure. I didn't ask any questions and preferred to consider the matter closed. Today I think that God is so delicate and so subtle in His actions that He does not want us to thank and believe in things that are difficult to believe."

His work Diary of a Friendship 

Diary of a friendship (Beskidzkie rekolekcje. Dzieje przyjaźni księdza Karola Wojtyły z rodziną Półtawskich) presents personal letters of spiritual direction addressed to her by Karol Wojtyła, always with the signature 'brat' - your brother, from 1961 to 1994.

An important book to read for an in-depth knowledge of Karol Wojtyła as a spiritual director.

Wanda was an active, intelligent, lively and socially committed girl in her hometown of Lublin. She was captured by the Nazis at the beginning of World War II and spent four years in the concentration camp in Ravensbrück.

That experience he would tell soon after in his story - And I am afraid of my dreams (I boję się snów). After the war he came to Kraków to study medicine.

The years of captivity had left a deep impression on him and he sought spiritual help, but could not find a guide or teacher.

It was in the 1950's when he went to confession in the church of St. Mary in the market square, the young confessor told him: "Come to Holy Mass in the morning, and come every day!

Those words came as a shock to her: "I didn't ask him to be the spiritual director of my soul, I didn't tell him anything like that. Everything came naturally when at the end he told me what no priest had ever told me before: Come to Holy Mass in the morning, and come every day! More than once I have thought that every confessor should give this simple advice: come to Holy Mass because it is the source of grace! However, no priest had ever asked me about it, some of them certainly suggested to me the possibility of talking to them, they told me: come to me, come to see me! But that priest did not say to me: 'Come to me!' but: Come to Holy Mass!".

For Wanda it was clear: this priest was the one chosen for her spiritual accompaniment, and he was the one chosen from the first meeting until April 2, 2005, when Wanda was there - in a pontifical room - faithfully watching her brother die.

In the book Wojtyła's letters and the author's personal comments focus on the sacrament of the Eucharist and the need for mental prayer. Wojtyła conveys this to Wanda in a stunningly beautiful context: the Beskides Mountains in the Western Carpathian Mountains. This memoir is actually the diary of a friendship between a man and a woman. It collects many personal letters of the priest, bishop and pope Karol, with continuous points for personal meditation. Throughout its pages one discovers the identity of being a Christian: friendship with Jesus Christ. The direction or personal spiritual accompaniment exercised by the priest Karol and later by Pope John Paul II on Wanda revolves around two axes: the teaching of personal prayer and the best way to exercise her rights and fulfill her duties as a wife, mother of a family and psychiatrist.

Critical reading

For those who criticize the possibility of a friendship between a Catholic priest and a woman, it should be emphasized that the presence of Wanda's husband, Andrés, in all the letters is continuous.

The introduction is hers and tells us from her perspective as a husband that "in today's world driven by sensual media, in a world where kissing a child on the forehead evokes thoughts of pedophilia, where a fraternal embrace between friends is easily interpreted as a manifestation of homosexuality, the friendship between a man and a woman automatically awakens thoughts of sexuality in those relationships. The author did not fail to encounter - during the war period and later in the years of her professional work - a multitude of cases that gave a negative answer to the question she continually asked herself: Is man capable of living a good life, without letting himself be carried away or functioning as an automaton? Can man really be clean and free? Spiritual direction together with the personal closeness of a great priest enabled my wife, Wanda Półtawska, to achieve balance and peace, to reconcile professional work with family life, and over the years more intensely - and sixty years have now passed - to deepen and further entrench our marital intimacy and harmony. It is difficult for me to express in depth my gratitude for the possibility of having lived these years together with a great woman and a great man, for the presence of a father and brother in the life of this great priest, bishop and pope.

Another critical note refers to the fact that the author takes advantage of Wojtyła's texts for her own prominence. Certainly Diary of a friendship is a continuous conversation with God and with his spiritual director.

The book contains about fifty pages of texts by John Paul II and the remaining five hundred pages are annotations from the author's personal diary, all intertwined.

Undoubtedly the priest Karol Wojtyła shows himself to us in this diary as an expert spiritual director, bold, modern and totally dedicated to his spiritual work.

Wojtyła is a man who knows how to listen, a Catholic priest who claims to be an instrument of Christ the Priest, a mystic who introduces souls to the difficult task of personal prayer.

Ten quotes from Wanda Półtawska.

• The body is sacred because it reveals the spirit. But it can reveal the spirit of the world or the Holy Spirit, it depends on your choice.
• Freedom is consciousness and will bounded by an end.
• Every minute can become a gift to someone.
• Love is not afraid of time. Love knows how to wait, and when it is authentic, it is not a desire for pleasure, but a willingness to give. The desire of concupiscence appropriates possessively, independently of the good of the person. Love does not covet, but admires and gives the good, only the good.
• Yes, I had a beautiful life and I have a beautiful life. It is not my merit to live to be a hundred years old (of course I did nothing special to reach a hundred years old), but each person can choose his own life style. My style and my will is to help save the life of every man, for we are all created for heaven. There is no human person who does not have that end.
• John Paul II repeated many times that we must learn to love. 
• I have been fortunate to live my life in an atmosphere of love.
• The human body is sacred. The womb in which a woman bears a child is a sanctuary of life. The woman is responsible for whom she allows into this sanctuary.
• You can and should consider holiness and how to act, but without manipulating life, because you do not have the power to give life. Every child is the work of God, not of man.
• The Church needs witnesses that people can live as God commands. And how should we live? St. John Paul II taught us this. He gave us all the indications to save the sanctity of marriage and human love.

"Religions and Media. Between secularization and the digital revolution" was the theme and title of the study day promoted by the ISCOM Association and the "Journalism and Religious Traditions" Committee of the Pontifical University of Santa Croce. On October 25, representatives of various religious traditions and professionals in the field reflected on the presence of Judaism, Islam, Christianity and Hinduism in the media landscape, which is increasingly situated in a very dynamic cultural and political context.

After the massacre of October 7, 2023 in Israel, one cannot help but reflect on the media repercussions of the war in the Middle East (and in other current and potential armed conflicts affecting the various regions of the world), raising the question of what is the role and function of religions in these new and old scenarios, and how this role is represented in the media and social networks. And all this, beyond censorship, disinformation and manipulation, so frequent in times of peace, and even more so in times of war.

The role of religion and communication

Is religion part of the problem or part of the solution? In his keynote address, Marta BrancatisanoProfessor Emeritus of Dual Anthropology at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce, said that "it is neither logical nor licit to attribute to faith a meaning and a result that is not in favor of life. Because "one cannot associate truth with violence". "It is necessary to attain," Brancatisano emphasizes, "a knowledge of religious traditions that today, as always, constitute the cultural basis on which societies rely in all their aspects."

Alessandra CostanteSecretary General of the National Federation of the Italian Press, stressed the importance of responsible reporting: "Respecting the different cultures and religious traditions, as journalists we are called to play our role and function with rigor, in the name of the substantive truth of the facts, which we cannot do without. Especially at a time like the one we are living in, with the risks of radicalization." "Religions in the 21st century - he continued - have unexpectedly returned to the spotlight". 

This was an opinion shared by Ariel Di PortoThe media should contribute to the knowledge of the various religious phenomena in an increasingly multicultural and multi-religious society," said the former chief rabbi of Turin, who is a member of the Jewish Community of Rome. 

Along the same lines, Abdellah RedouaneSecretary General of the Islamic Cultural Center of Italy, indicated that "the media constitute an opportunity and at the same time a threat for the different faiths. Opportunity because the religious authorities have been able to spread their word in the public space. Threats - concluded Redouane - because there is concern that some media can adulterate religious sensibility, with an unquestionable diffusion of secularism and rejection of the religious phenomenon, whatever it may be".

Freedom of religion and freedom of information

One of the round tables of the Conference focused on analyzing to what extent it is possible to harmonize the principles of religious freedom and freedom of information. Apparently they would seem to be in conflict or incompatible with each other. However, "one is not completely free", in the opinion of Davide Jona FalcoThe Communication Advisor of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (U.C.E.I.), "if one cannot express and live one's religion, if one does not have the right to express one's opinion and receive accurate information or communicate information or ideas without outside interference".

The balance between freedom of expression and religious freedom is particularly sensitive when it comes to religious satire or theological criticism. Zouhir Louassinia journalist and writer for Rai News since 2001, has proposed "finding a compromise that respects both freedoms. That requires constant dialogue and a deep understanding of diverse cultural and religious sensitivities. The key could lie in promoting education and mutual empathy, recognizing the importance of both freedoms in building a democratic and inclusive society." 

Muslims, too, therefore, enter (and are called to enter) into dialogue with the world. "However," he clarified Mustafa Cenap Aydinsociologist of religions and director of the Tevere Institute Center for Dialogue, "when speaking of Islam, it is necessary to clarify which Islam is being referred to, given the plural and complex reality of Islam in dialogue with the world, paying particular attention to the theological foundations of interreligious dialogue in the Muslim holy book, the Koran.

On religious freedom, peaceful coexistence and the process of secularization, he has reflected on Paolo CavanaProfessor of Canon Law and Ecclesiastical Law at LUMSA University in Rome. According to him, "globalization has made religious communities necessary actors in the construction of multi-ethnic and multi-religious societies". However, in his opinion, only freedom of information is capable of guaranteeing "the mutual knowledge that constitutes the fundamental presupposition of all interreligious dialogue, based on respect for the human person".

How can the culture of different religious traditions be told on television? Marco Di Portojournalist, writer and author of "Sorgente di vita", a program on Jewish culture broadcast on RAI, has drawn attention to "the importance of narrating the history and traditions of the 'Jewish world' to a general audience. And the challenge of delving into complex issues in a direct and understandable way, appropriate to the speed and immediacy of the media. Jewish culture -adds Roberto Della RoccaDirector of the Department of Education and Culture of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities - can become a meeting place for different traditions. Jewish culture is characterized by multi-territorialism and multilingualism, a consequence of a Diaspora that has allowed Jews to sow and harvest fertile fruits, within the Hellenistic, Arab-Islamic and finally European culture".

Telling stories with religious content

Is there a religious way to tell a story with religious content? According to Luca Manzi, writer and screenwriter, co-author of series such as "Don Matteo", "Boris", "Ombrelloni" and "The net", "analyzing international seriality, the structure of the story has experienced in the last two decades an unprecedented change, establishing for the first time a difference between a structural and intrinsically religious story, the classic one, and one that dispenses with God".

An example of this is "The Chosen" (2017), the American series that is inserted in a rich tradition, to which the Italian cultural industry has contributed significantly: from the historical-cultural proposals of the 60s-70s to the Golden Age of religious seriality in the 90s-00s.

"But alongside this narrative," notes Sergio Perugini, journalist and secretary of the CIS National Film Evaluation Commission, "it is important to highlight how religion often returns in contemporary seriality (as in cinema) stripped of its complexity, used only for its symbolic codes or reduced to flat and problematic stereotypes."

October 7 has been mentioned, a date tragically destined to mark the history of mankind. But even after September 11, nothing is the same as before. Ahmad EjazThe West is discovering Islam as an entity and an enemy at the same time," he says. Suddenly, opinions emerge and concepts and identities are mixed. "The result," he adds, "is a new ignorance that leads to a national-popular prejudice structured in condemnations, judgments and labels unfortunately on both sides." "Everyone feels simultaneously accused and under attack," Ejaz concludes.

Is it possible to identify a style of presence (even of Christians) on social networks? Fabio Bolzettajournalist and president of the Association of Italian WebCatholics (WECA), observes that "in order to inhabit the digital continent in a synodal time, the guidelines are encounter and listening. While on the Net the opportunities of encounter are growing for those who are engaged, as Christians, in digital communication: witnesses, digital missionaries or influencers? Because the vocation and commitment to proclamation must be recognized first and foremost".

Hindu culture was also present at the event, with the vice-president of the Italian Hindu Union (UII), Svamini Hamsananda Ghiri, who drew attention to the impact of secularization and technological progress, inviting "to reflect on the value of the sacred on a personal, social and religious level, and on the importance of keeping this value alive in a society that tends more and more towards materiality, through a productive encounter between religions and information, making the most of the digital tools available.

Finally, Swamini Shuddhananda Ghiri observes how "Western culture, which defends the right to freedom, should also support the right of religions to make their own identity known in a correct way and, at the same time, to know the other beliefs through the idea of the sacred as a common denominator.