Record of Conversation of M S Gorbachev and John Paul II Vatican December 1 1989 For the first several minutes the conversation was one-on-one without interpreters Gorbachev I would like to say that I appreciate your words at the beginning of the conversation regarding the fact that this is a meeting of two Slavic people among other things I don’t mean to appear as a pan-Slavist but I believe in the mission of Slavic people to strengthen the understanding of human values of life peace and goodness everywhere John Paul II Yes this is so Peace and goodness Gorbachev We welcome your mission on this high altar we are sure that it will leave a great footprint in history I am familiar with your addresses to the world with your reflection upon its problems I even noted that we often use similar expressions This means that there is agreement at the source—in our thoughts I do not know why but I was sure that this meeting would take place Not only because it is in the interest of humanity although this is important as we are contemporaries But first and foremost it is because we have a great deal of unifying thoughts and concerns I thank you for the invitation to visit the Vatican and in the name of the vast country that I represent I would like to express respect for your peace-making efforts John Paul II We are trying From my side I would like to thank you Mr President for your last message which I read several times and kept coming back to It is a very important message full of content where I saw many thoughts similar to my own Gorbachev For my part I thought about your message for a long time before responding to it John Paul II Naturally the main problem that interests all of humanity is the question of war and peace We are grateful to God that lately the danger of war has decreased and the tension in relations between the East and the West has gone down We know and value highly your work for the sake of world peace and wish it a good continuation Gorbachev I thank you for that John Paul II We all need peace and solidarity among nations It is especially important to have movement forward in relations between the great powers on different fronts including on the problems of developing countries The situation in the Third World is one of the issues I am concerned about the most I wrote about this in my encyclical “On Social Concerns ”   1 I would like to speak about the elements related to the word “perestroika ” which has deeply touched all aspects of life for the Soviet people and not only them This process allows us together to look for a way to enter a new dimension of people’s common existence which would reflect to a greater degree the requirements of the human spirit of different nations of the rights of individuals and nations The efforts you are making are not only of a great interest to us We share them Naturally one of the fundamental human rights is the freedom of conscience from which stems religious freedom For obvious reasons this aspect is of the greatest interest to me the Church and the Holy See After all our mission is religious In order to have the opportunity to carry out our mission in different countries with various political systems it is necessary for us to be sure that freedom of conscience is observed in those countries In relation to this I will say that we are waiting anxiously and with great hope for your country to accept a law to uphold freedom of conscience We hope that the introduction of such a law would broaden the possibility for religious life for all Soviet citizens A person becomes a believer through free choice it is impossible to make someone believe In the Soviet Union especially in Russia as well as in several neighboring countries the majority of believers are Orthodox Christians Of course we hope that our Orthodox brethren attain more freedom Moreover we have started on the path of an ecumenical dialogue which is actively developing with Orthodox churches especially with the Russian Orthodox Church We share a great deal in common Additionally there are many other creeds in the USSR including Catholics of the Latin and Byzantine or Eastern Churches Catholics of the Eastern Church recognize the Pope as the Bishop of Rome and their pastor As their pastor he is responsible for their religious life in the highest and fullest sense of the word In some countries the Latin Catholic Church is prevalent This includes most of the population of Lithuania a part of the population of Latvia as well as the territories that in the past centuries belonged to the Republic of nations—the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth I am aware that although the majority of believers in Belorussia and Ukraine are Orthodox there is also a good number of Catholics of the Latin and Byzantine denominations The situation of the latter group is of particular concern both for me and for the Holy See for over 40 years that have passed since the end of the war they have been denied the fundamental right of religious freedom they have been practically put outside the law We hope that the new law for the freedom of conscience will create for them as for all believers the opportunity to openly practice their religion and have their own church structures Of course freedom of conscience has to extend to Baptists Protestants Jews as well as Muslims Gorbachev Yes the Muslims are a real factor for us   2 John Paul II There is a point in your message Mr President about appointing representatives from both sides This idea was discussed at your meeting with Archbishop Sodano I would like to say that I agree with this idea completely It would be very important for us to have such a representative We have been missing this since the war We did not have any way to discuss the Catholics’ situation with the leadership I have to say that recently the first steps have been taken on this issue first and foremost in Lithuania The appointment of a bishop to Belorussia is an important step even though he cannot fully carry out his Episcopal mission yet We have hope that the situation will change The institutionalization of our ties—although we still have to define the status of our representatives—will allow us to maintain contact on human rights issues as well as on other problems and we will be able to exchange our mutual concerns The Holy See has relations with over 100 nations including many Muslim countries As we understand establishing such relations with the Soviet Union would be highly beneficial for the issues that have long awaited resolution from your country’s political powers and the individual republics’ local powers If possible I would like to have more certainty in this question Gorbachev I have listened to your words very carefully and from my side would like to speak about three concerns peace our perestroika and in connection to it the freedom of conscience and religion I assure you that our path the one we call the new thinking is not just a fashion trend or an attempt to get attention It is the result of deep consideration of the situation in our country in Europe and the world I have to say once we accepted the new thinking it became easier for us to breathe This was followed by concrete proposals and thoughts on how to build new relations and live together in a new way When we first announced these ideas some people declared them to be only illusions and fantasies And now there are definite political results The Helsinki process is going farther and becoming stronger Europe has to play its historical role in renewing peace It has vast historical experience traditions culture and intellectual potential which enable us to talk about Europe’s historic peacemaking mission The Vatican can bring a great contribution to the common cause both as a nation and as the expression of an immense movement I think so not only because the Vatican’s signature stands on the Helsinki Final Act but also because I know what you have done recently to enrich this process We already have an agreement to eliminate one type of nuclear weapons There is a real chance of reducing strategic weapons by 50 percent I will discuss this with President Bush The Hungarian talks are in progress Even the generals have started meetings with each other In a word the world is changing   3 I have to say Your Holiness that I am astonished by the people’s reaction to our proposals and our thoughts We are not so ambitious as to consider ourselves the vessels of some higher saving mission Our new European “credo” is to invite others to think together how to build a better world One must not claim to have the absolute truth and to try to impose it on others For example our Western partners including the US administration declare that they support perestroika It is true that the majority of regular people and politicians support it But someone is already saying that Europe should be renewed only on the basis of Western values and anything that differs from them should be cut off This is no way to treat nations their history traditions and identities In the past the Soviet Union was accused of exporting revolution Now some people are trying to export other values This is not the path we should be taking It reminds me of the religious wars of the past We must have learned something since then As for religious problems we treat them within the framework of our general understanding of universal human values In this matter as in others the people are the highest authority Everything depends on the choice of the people It is up to the person what philosophy and religion to practice I think we have reached the point when we can build relations between nations and between people on the basis of respect At one point President Reagan tried to teach me how to conduct matters in our country I told him that we would not be able to have a conversation like that A conversation can only happen on the basis of realism and mutual respect I told him you are not a teacher and I am not a student You are not a prosecutor and I am not a defendant So if we want to talk about politics about how to change the world for the better then we have to do it as equals He understood this and we were able to do what we did I know that you welcomed the results of that dialogue and I value your support highly We plan to work with the current administration on the same principles Let each side remain itself while respecting the traditions of the other side Universal human values should become the primary goal while the choice of this or that political system should be left up to the people Today we are facing the acute problem of survival This includes the threat of nuclear weapons the issues of ecology natural resources the information aspect and the ScientificTechnical Revolution which together with progress brings many complications All of these are global universal problems We must see them they cannot be ignored We have to understand them to change our way of thinking and consequentially our policies We have to shift from confrontation to collaboration This will be a long and difficult road but I do not agree with our country’s pessimists John Paul II Neither do I   4 Gorbachev Our planet is overloaded with many cares However if we join forces we have great opportunities to move in the right direction to build a new world on the basis of universal values You mentioned problems of the Third World I also wanted to talk about them We cannot be content while millions of people are living in conditions of appalling poverty hunger and destitution I am familiar with your speeches on this subject Our views coincide Overall there are many issues on which we could work together and continue to regularly exchange opinions Each in his own way we could make our original contributions to the resolution of universal problems Now about perestroika Right now it going through the most intense point of a critical period The most difficult aspect is perestroika of thought Old notions are hard to get rid of Great difficulties arise because the changes influence some people’s vital interests Some are trying to take advantage of the confusion in people’s minds that is caused by the deep changes We have to see this I would also like to say that the problems of your homeland—Poland—are very close to me In the recent years I have done and will continue to do everything I can to ensure good relations between Poland Russia and the Soviet Union John Paul II I thank you on behalf of my homeland Gorbachev I recently met with Mr Mazowiecki and he said many good things about you There are major changes in other countries as well In relation to this I would like to document one more point Western politicians should take a responsible approach to these changes They are too important to be treated otherwise If they succeed the world will change Right now there is an option of starting upon the path of good development even though it might be a difficult one I think the majority of politicians seriously understand this At the beginning of the talk you said that you are praying for perestroika and its success I would like to say that we appreciate your support We are undergoing major changes in the spiritual sphere We would like to achieve our goals by democratic means However considering the events of the past years I see that democratic measures alone are not sufficient We also need ethics Democracy can bring evil as well as good It is what it is It is very important to us to establish a moral society with such eternal universal human truths as goodness charity and mutual help In light of the changes taking place we believe that it is necessary to respect the internal world of our religious citizens We especially feel this way about our Orthodox population because so much has been destroyed   5 The majority of believers in our country—including the Orthodox Muslims and Catholics—support perestroika In the near future the USSR Supreme Soviet will pass the freedom of conscience law We are interested in having different religions contribute to the renewal and humanization of our society But considering the specific character and uniqueness of the situation it is necessary that matters do not become politicized Believers in our country are allowed to participate in the political process now there are even some deputies who come from the clergy It is important that all questions be resolved normally and humanely I understand your ideas about how to relieve the problems of Catholics we all understand them We are looking at the future law as a means to settle all problems After we pass the law it will be time for practical steps that will put everything in its place History has put its imprint on the Uniate Eastern Catholics It is important that things fall into place calmly in the first place in relations between the different religions We welcome the establishment of a relationship with the Russian Orthodox Church Not only the believers but the entire country highly regarded the fact that representatives of the Vatican headed by Cardinal Casaroli participated in the millennial celebration of the Baptism of Russia We would hope that from your side there will be incentives to keep the ongoing processes from escalating to remove the existing complications We would also ask you to see that the structure of the Catholic Church in our country corresponds to state limits I do not intend to give advice here and will rely on your experience and wisdom The entire country heard it when you said that politicization should be avoided in serious issues I have to say in connection to well known events the leadership in some places is finding itself in a tight spot In Lvov the situation became so acute that the leadership did not know what to do to normalize it At that point we turned to both sides of the conflict to the Ukrainian leadership asking them to get the situation under control peacefully When the law is passed we will have the opportunity to normalize the situation legally But I have to say frankly that many practical issues in our opinion have to be resolved through agreements among the religious leaders themselves This does not mean that we to use a famous phrase are washing our hands I will put it this way we will accept any agreement that you reach with the Orthodox Church We need the passions to die down in order to regulate the situation When I met with Archbishop Sodano he said that you need to have two archbishops on the territory of the USSR—for the Catholics in the European and Asian parts of the country Well let us consider it I think this is natural I heard with interest your thoughts about appointing permanent representatives who could travel on assignment from the leadership to exchange opinions In this way our relations would assume a normal natural character We approve such an approach and are ready for it   6 Your representative could establish contact with our government organs that deal with religious issues However we do not want to rush with this matter Rushing with such delicate fine questions could be downright dangerous I hope that after this meeting our relations will gain new momemntum and I assume that at some point in the future you could visit the USSR John Paul II If this were allowed I would be very glad to Gorbachev We should consider the date for such a trip calmly and without rushing I will say outright the next year promises to be a hot one for us We should pick a time when it would be interesting for you and the when visit would do the most good John Paul II Very well Gorbachev I want to express my great pleasure that we were able to have such a broad discussion in such a composed atmosphere We touched upon the important questions which trouble all of us as well as upon more concrete issues John Paul II I am grateful to you for talking about your thoughts on international issues Naturally we primarily touched upon European and to some extent North American problems But there are other parts of the world where the situation is troubling I am particularly concerned about the situation in Lebanon and in general the Middle East also to some degree in Indo-China and Central America Overall there are quite a few places in the world with difficulties Perhaps we could act together on this front In these matters the Church and the Pope can only represent the moral aspect It would be good to help these nations by political means to overcome the tragic situations in which they find themselves I am thankful to you for your discussion of perestroika We are watching it from outside You Mr President carry it inside you in your heart and in your deeds I think we understood correctly that the strength of perestroika is in its soul You are right when you say that changes should not come too fast We also agree that not only structures need to be changed but the thinking as well It would be wrong for someone to claim that changes in Europe and the world should follow the Western model This goes against my deep convictions Europe as a participant in world history should breathe with two lungs Gorbachev This is a very appropriate image John Paul II I thought about this relatively early already in 1980 when I declared the patrons of Europe to be besides Saint Benedict of the Latin tradition Cyril and Methodius   7 representing the Eastern Byzantine Greek Slavic and Russian traditions This is my European credo I am deeply grateful to you for the invitation I would be glad to have the opportunity to visit the Soviet Union Russia to meet with Catholics and not only them to visit holy places that are for us Christians a source of inspiration Thank you for the invitation I can well appreciate its weight and importance Finally I thank you very much for your confirmation in relation to exchanging representatives between the Soviet leadership and the Holy See I hope that this will aid in resolving issues in religious affairs We should do this calmly even very calmly by no means allowing these issues to become politicized In conclusion I would once again thank you for the invitation I hope that the time will come for my visit After all I know Eastern Europe poorly I am a Western Slav I did not know the towns that were in Poland before the war and are now in the Soviet Union These are Lvov and Vilnius But most of all I want to meet and feel what I call “the Eastern genius ” Gorbachev I thank you for the atmosphere and content of today’s conversation I will count on this dialogue to continue Translated by Anna Melyakova for the National Security Archive Source State Archive of the Russian Federation GARF Moscow Yakovlev Collection Fond 10063 Opis 1 Delo 394 On file at the National Security Archive   8