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WAS POPE JOHN PAUL II JEWISH?

The early years: an unhappy childhood

by John Christensen

(CNN) -- [The late Pope John Paul II] was named Karol Jozef Wojtyla ... became the Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ, Successor of St. Peter, Prince of Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Patriarch of the West, Primate of Italy, Sovereign of Vatican City  – John Christensen at CNN SPECIAL BIOGRAPHY on the Pope’s Early Years, http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/pope/bio/early/ 

Why the Pope’s Mother, Emily Katz, is Likely of Jewish Descent

(CNN) -- Friends in Wadowice, a town of 8,000 Catholics and 2,000 Jews 35 miles southwest of Krakow, called Wojtyla "Lolek." Lolek was born in 1920, the second son of Karol Wojtyla (voy TIH wah) Sr., a retired army officer and tailor, and Emilia Kaczorowska Wojtyla, a schoolteacher of Lithuanian descent. [And most likely Jewish, her Anglocized name being "Emily Katz." Her wedding picture shows typical Jewish facial features.] – John Christensen at CNN SPECIAL BIOGRAPHY on the Pope’s Early Years, http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/pope/bio/early/ 

Emily Katz’s Picture

[Notice the Jewish facial characteristics of the Pope's Mother, Emily Katz, who was born "Emilia Kaczorowska." According to CNN, the Pope's friends were mostly Jewish. Evidently, the rest of his father's family disowned the Pope's father for marrying Emily Katz. Note: This picture is placed here under "fair use" of the copyright law for scholarly research only. It could be found at the CNN site as of July 27, 2004 when this revealing information was archived on www.jewwatch.com. -- Jew Watch Notes ]

The Pope’s Family Friends were mostly Jewish. 
Jerry Kluger, a Jewish Boy, Is His Life Long Friend

(CNN) -- The Wojtylas … did not share the anti-Semitic views of many Poles. One of Lolek's playmates was Jerzy Kluger, a Jew who many years later would play a key role as a go-between for John Paul II and Israeli officials when the Vatican extended long-overdue diplomatic recognition to Israel. – John Christensen at CNN SPECIAL BIOGRAPHY on the Pope’s Early Years, http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/pope/bio/early/ 

(CNN) -- Kluger told The New York Times that he spent many afternoons sitting in the kitchen next to the Wojtylas' coal stove listening to Lolek's father tell stories about Greece, Rome and Poland. –– John Christensen at CNN SPECIAL BIOGRAPHY on the Pope’s Early Years, http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/pope/bio/early/ 

(CNN) -- Lolek, in turn, went to the (Jewish) Klugers' 10-room apartment overlooking the town square and listened to music performed by a string quartet composed of two Jews and two Catholics. – John Christensen at CNN SPECIAL BIOGRAPHY on the Pope’s Early Years, http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/pope/bio/early/ 

(CNN) -- "The people in the Vatican do not know Jews, and previous popes did not know Jews," Kluger told the Times. "But this pope is a friend of the Jewish people because he knows Jewish people." – John Christensen at CNN SPECIAL BIOGRAPHY on the Pope’s Early Years, http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/pope/bio/early/ 

(CNN) -- Indeed, Wojtyla became the first pope to visit a synagogue and the first to visit the memorial at Auschwitz to victims of the Holocaust. In ending the Catholic-Jewish estrangement, he called Jews "our elder brothers." – John Christensen at CNN SPECIAL BIOGRAPHY on the Pope’s Early Years, http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/pope/bio/early/ 

Pope Participated in Jewish Oriented Activities such as Theatre Groups, 
Singing, Poetry Reading, and Literary Discussion Groups

(CNN) -- He also joined an experimental theater group and participated in poetry readings and literary discussion groups. Friends say he was an intense and gifted actor, and a fine singer. – John Christensen at CNN SPECIAL BIOGRAPHY on the Pope’s Early Years, http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/pope/bio/early/ 

Pope John-Paul II Faced Deportation in Poland by the Germans, 
Probably Because he was of Jewish Descent, 
So He Took a Difficult Laborer’s Job in a Stone Quarry 
to Escape Deportation and Imprisonment. 
Question: Why would this happen if he were not Jewish?

(CNN) -- After the Germans invaded Poland, he escaped deportation and imprisonment in late 1940 by taking a job as a stone cutter in a quarry. – John Christensen at CNN SPECIAL BIOGRAPHY on the Pope’s Early Years, http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/pope/bio/early/ 

To Blend In With Christians and Not be Deported, 
The Jewish Pope-To-Be Studied for the Priesthood Starting in 1943

(CNN) -- A few months later, in February of 1941, Wojtyla's 61-year-old father died, leaving his dream of seeing his son commit to the priesthood unfulfilled. The pope has said that his father once told him, "I will not live long and would like to be certain before I die that you will commit yourself to God's service." – John Christensen at CNN SPECIAL BIOGRAPHY on the Pope’s Early Years, http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/pope/bio/early/ 

(CNN) -- It was another 18 months, however, before Wojtyla began studying at an underground seminary in Krakow and registered for theology courses at the university. – John Christensen at CNN SPECIAL BIOGRAPHY on the Pope’s Early Years, http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/pope/bio/early/  [Note: The Pope did not study for the priesthood until after the Germans had controlled Poland for 2-3 years and after his father had died. This might perhaps be consistent with a mixed family atmosphere and lends more weight to the concept of having a Jewish mother along with Jewish friends as he grew up. -- JEW WATCH NOTE.]

The Pope Worked in War Chemical Plant
To Escape 1944 Deportation

(CNN) -- He continued his studies, acted and worked in a chemical plant until August of 1944. – John Christensen at CNN SPECIAL BIOGRAPHY on the Pope’s Early Years, http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/pope/bio/early/ 

The Pope Took Refuge
In the Archbishop of Krakow’s Residence in 1944

(CNN) -- But when the Germans began rounding up Polish men, Wojtyla took refuge in the archbishop of Krakow's residence, and remained there until the end of the war. – John Christensen at CNN SPECIAL BIOGRAPHY on the Pope’s Early Years, http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/pope/bio/early/