I am currently reading Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II by George Weigel. In describing the reaction of the eastern European regimes and their Soviet puppet masters to the election of Pope John Paul II, Weigel relates the following anecdotes and comment on p. 269 of the trade paperback edition:
"The Polish communist leadership was also the target of sarcasm from its fraternal socialist ally. At the inaugural Mass, the Soviet ambassador to Italy turned to Polish President Henryk Jablonski and acidly observed that the greatest achievement of the Polish People's Republic was to give the world a Polish pope. Giancarlo Pajetta, an Italian communist with much experience in Poland, tried to put the best face on things by suggesting that 'At least our Polish comrades won't have him [Karol Wojtyla] breaking their balls any more.' He was wrong about that, too."
Heh!
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