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There have been signs in recent weeks that tolerance for Jaruzelski's peculiar mix of Communism and Polish nationalism may be wearing thin in Moscow. The Soviet weekly New Times, for example, took some uncomradely potshots at Polityka, a moderate Polish weekly that is thought to represent the views of some members of Jaruzelski's inner circle. The Moscow publication bluntly stated that Polityka, and by implication the Jaruzelski regime, had lost its bearings and seemed intent on making Poland "a land of pluralism." That message has not been lost on the hard-liners in Poland's divided and demoralized Communist Party. Jaruzelski has rebuffed past challenges to his approach, but the embarrassing display of national defiance that seemed to follow in the Pope's wake could make it more difficult for him to convince his rivals in Poland's Politburo—and Moscow—that his policy of normalization is firmly on track.
The seeds that John Paul sowed in the hearts and minds of Poles as he traveled across his native land will take months to mature. But, just as when he first returned as Pope in 1979, it was clear that something undefinable but palpable had changed. Whether that was good news or bad was another question. The first trip produced the optimism and euphoria that led to the creation of Solidarity, but it would be difficult to dare hope this time that anything but more frustration, hardship and agony lay in store for the long-suffering Polish nation.
—By John Kohan. Reported by Roland Flamini, John Moody and Thomas A. Sancton with the Pope