"ROMAN TRIPTYCH," POEMS BY JOHN PAUL II

VATICAN CITY, MAR 6, 2003 (VIS) - "Roman Triptych, Meditations," a book of poems by Pope John Paul II, was presented this morning in the Holy See Press Office by Cardinal Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Joining him were Prof. Giovanni Reale, who gave a critique of the work, and Italian actor Nando Gazzolo, who read several of the poems.

Originally written in Polish, "Roman Triptych" was made available today in Italian, English, Spanish and French. All heads of dicasteries of the Roman Curia were invited to this morning's presentation.

Cardinal Ratzinger said that "the first panel of the Roman triptych of Pope John Paul II mirrors the experience of creation, its beauty, its dynamism. There is the image of wooded hills and also, even stronger, the image of water that flows towards the valleys, from 'the silvery cascade, rhythmically falling from the mountain'." Here, he said, the Pope is looking for the "source" and he sees that "if you wish to find the source, you must go up, against the current."

"I believe," stated the cardinal, "that this is the key to reading the two successive panels. They, in fact, lead us upwards, against the current. The spiritual pilgrimage undertaken in this text leads us towards the 'Beginning' ... In the Beginning was the Word. ... Upon arriving the real surprise is that the 'beginning' is also revealed as the end." He added that "the true key word which summarizes the pilgrimage of the second panel of the triptych is not 'Word' but rather vision and seeing. The Word has a face. The Word - the source - is a vision. Creation, the universe comes from a vision. Man comes from a vision."

Cardinal Ratzinger highlighted how the poems speak of the "beginning" and the "end," saying that their link appears clear in the images Michelangelo gave us in the Sistine Chapel of the Creation and the Last Judgement. "From the Pope's inner eyes emerges again the memory of the conclaves of August and October 1978. ... The Pope speaks to the cardinals of a future conclave, 'after my death', and tells them to allow Michelangelo's vision to speak to them. The word 'con-clave' imposes the thought of keys, of the legacy left by the keys of Peter. Placing these keys in the right hands - this is the immense responsibility of those days."

In conclusion, the prefect noted that "the immense arc that is the true vision of the Roman Triptych, clearly reveals itself in the third panel, the ascent of Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah, the mount of sacrifice, of unreserved self-giving. The ascent is the last and decisive phase of the path of Abraham, that started with his leaving his homeland, Ur of the Chaldeans; it is the final phase of the ascent towards the summit, counter-current, towards the source which is also the final destination."

Prof. Reale said that "the Roman Triptych of Karol Wojtyla is a beautiful and moving text, but not an easy one to read and understand" without the proper keys to its study. "The main axis," he explained, "of the compositions of Wojtyla the poet coincides precisely with those of Wojtyla the philosopher and Wojtyla the theologian. This axis consists in a concept of man, not only and not just in his earthly and temporal dimension but also and above all in his metaphysical origins and his eschatalogical destiny, with all the complexities and intricate dynamics that this involves."

REALE: "Based on what we have just said," he continued, "a certain problem of aesthetics arises: is it possible to compose 'poetical' works on the basis of 'philosophical' and 'theological' concepts? The answer to this problem is essential for understanding and thoroughly enjoying Pope John Paul's 'Roman Triptych'. The answer, he said, is "yes" because "the philosopher as a creator of concepts is a 'thinker', whereas the poet as a creator of images is a 'visionary'. It is thus as a 'visionary' that the poet can 'see' and express through 'images' what the philosopher and theologian express through concepts."

"Many have asked," he remarked, "how on earth the Supreme Pontiff felt the need to return to writing poetry, as he did when he was young. In the first place we must say that (Pope) Wojtyla has dedicated almost four decades to writing poetry - though published for the most part under pseudonyms. In the second place, we must remember that Wojtyla, in addition to being a 'theologian' is not only a 'poet', but also a 'philosopher'. During the year a new volume will be edited which will contain all philosophical works published by him: its title will be 'Metaphysics of the Person'.

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