South Bend, June 10, 1979
The First Visit to Poland
The first pastoral pilgrimage of John Paul II to his homeland last week was an event, which the world has followed with astonishment and apprehension. Millions of people gave the Holy Father a passionately enthusiastic welcome and celebrated Mass with him. Is there a more convincing testimony that religion in Poland, despite having been persecuted and suppressed for decades, is still alive? The Pope tried to find an understanding with the Communist government, but unequivocally rejected the materialistic philosophy of Marxism. He emphasized that the human being cannot be understood by his economic production alone. The words spoken in Poland will reverberate throughout the entire Communist East. It has become obvious by this papal visit how deeply rooted the Catholic Church has remained in Poland. To have been able to see this, even from a distance on television, has been consoling.
[George Weigel remarks on the reception of the Pope in Poland: “No hero in Polish history . . . had ever entered Warsaw as John Paul II did on June 2, 1979.” About three million people had come from all over Poland to see their Pope and to pray with him. John Paul referred to the millennium celebrations of the Church in Poland (966 - 1966). He said he had come in defense of religion and to affirm anew the dignity and rights of the human being. That was the beginning of the historic change, which finally led to the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. (See George Weigel, Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II, pp. 292-95.)]
South Bend, Sunday, June 17, 1979
The Summit Meeting in Vienna
The summit meeting over this weekend between U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Soviet Head of State Leonid Brezhnev in Vienna has moved the Austrian capital again to center stage of world attention. At stake is the conclusion of SALT II, the bilateral agreement on the limitation of strategic arms. After years of negotiations since 1972, agreement has finally been reached on the essential points so that the completed treaty will be ready to be signed tomorrow by Carter and Brezhnev. The SALT II agreement has revived public discussion about nuclear disarmament. As a lay person one can get an approximate idea what it is about. Strategic arms should be limited to a certain level. This applies to intercontinental ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads deployed in the United States and the Soviet Union, which could reach either country. The medium range nuclear weapons primarily deployed in Europe are not included in the treaty. SALT II should establish the nuclear balance between the two superpowers. The high upper level [2,250 missiles on either side], which should limit the nuclear arsenal, makes it clear that both superpowers have the capacity to obliterate each other within an hour in case of a nuclear war and to turn the Northern hemisphere into a radiation contaminated desert. By this deterrent, it should be guaranteed that a nuclear war will never happen.
In contrast to the gruesome topic of the conference, Vienna provided a charming ambience for the meeting. When could one have otherwise seen on American television pictures of the Hofburg, the Staatsoper, the Melk Abbey and Klosterneuburg? Neutral Austria proved to be an excellent host country for this summit meeting.
June 18, 1979
From the Redoutensaal Directly to the U.S. Congress
After the SALT II treaty had been signed today in the Redoutensaal of the Hofburg*, President Carter flew back to Washington to report to Congress on the agreement with the Soviet Union. He left Vienna at 2 p.m. local time and, gaining 6 hours on the flight back, was able to address Congress on the same day at 9 p.m. EST. Carter spoke with confidence about SALT II, expressing his hope that the Senate will ratify the agreement. He emphasized the importance of having achieved parity in nuclear arms with the Soviet Union, whereby a global nuclear confrontation has become unthinkable. By far not all differences between East and West have been solved, but the danger of a direct confrontation has been excluded. In Carter’s view, mankind is about to overcome the cycle of world wars with periods of peace in between. The beginning of the debate on SALT II in the Senate has already been scheduled for July 6. Most likely, the Senate will ask for an amendment to the agreement.
*[Transl: The Redoutensaal, a small, delicately ornate hall in the Rococo style, was originally a meeting place for young aristocrats in the imperial palace. It later served as an intimate theatre for Mozart operas.]
Note
[The SALT II treaty was never ratified by the U.S. Senate. The debate on the matter was protracted over the summer of 1979. The opposition objected that the Soviet Union had an advantage on carrier rockets and that the verification, whether the provisions of the agreement were observed, was not reliable enough. Also, the testimony of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger weighed in. Kissinger supported the SALT II agreement, but he had reservations. He warned that the stepped up production of SS-20 medium-range missiles in the Soviet Union exposed Europe to danger. After the Russian invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979, the SALT II treaty never made it to the Senate floor for ratification. However, the Soviet Union and the United States have adhered to the conditions of the treaty.]