The Vatican has distanced itself from an BBC Vatican documentary that examines the relationship between Pope John Paul II and a US philosopher Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka, "The Secret Letters of Pope John Paul II" is a documentary to be aired in England. It considers the Polish-born American philosopher. Tymieniecka worked on the English translation of one of the Pope’s books, "The Acting Person", that was written while he was the bishop of Krakow. According to the documentary their personal correspondence led to speculation that they may have fallen in love.
However, as noted in this Observatore Romano Article from 2011; Saint Pope John Paul II had a profound respect for women. He therefore obtained their opinions with regards to issues pertaining to the Church and women. His correspondence shows that he valued the opinion of women.
Tymieniecka was married to the Harvard professor Hendrick S. Houthakker, who was honoured by the Pope in 2003. Tymieniecka denied being romantically involved with the pontiff. The BBC has obtained previously unseen letters from John Paul II to Tymieniecka. “It was known that he was friendly with Tymieniecka and Poltawska,” a Vatican official told the Guardian. Wanda Poltawska published a 2009 memoir which included detailed correspondence between herself and John Paul II, to whom she was considered a close confidante.
The BBC Panorama program is not expected to allege that either woman had a physical relationship with John Paul II, who was canonized a Saint in 2011.
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