For his life, word and written work, Pope John Paul II set the grounds of a liberation that caused a strong impression in Poland and still expands. Thanks to him, we live today in a different Poland. Thanks to him I can speak out my mind. In the columnist block, the totalitarian armies and their agents fought any initiative favorable to democracy. For years, I tried to regroup people who were willing to fight communism but I was unable to mobilize my fellow countrymen since they were under the effect of fear. Everything changed in 1979 when Pope John Paul II visited my country. A Polish had become Pope and returned to his country to tell us not to be afraid. The world witnessed then a manifestation of faith in a communist country. The Pope restored the Polish pride, triggered uprisings in Europe. We are now the orphans of the Holy Father who returned to the arms of God. He handed down to us, however, a profound faith in the values that we still fight for.

Source
Los Angeles Times (United States)

Was the Pope Polish? Yes, Thank God”, by Lech Walesa, Los Angeles Times, April 17, 2005.