Posted by Jaroslaw Mikołajewski A conversation with a poet and Nobel Prize winned on the 'Triptych' of John Paul II. A search for the answer to the question of real poetry and the Pope's role as the author.

'The age changes our point of view. When I was young it was considered inappropriate for a poet to ask for papal blessing. And that is what I'm concerned about seriously; as for the last few years I have been writing my poems in order not to deviate from Catholic orthodoxy and I don't know whether my effort was fruitful, remains a mystery for me'.

The letter of John Paul II to artists is an unexpected, delightful and miraculous event. At the very end of the century of horrifying wars and crimes, and at the same time of consecutive revolutions in the art bewitched with the unending quest for the new, a wise and calm voice reverberates, reminding us all of what has always been the objective and vocation of art.

We come to you, men of weak faith,
So that you might fortify us with the example of your life
And liberate us from anxiety
About tomorrow and next year. Your twentieth century