Pope John Paul II had a long-time girlfriend

[nichomachus]

Well isn't that special.

Pope John Paul II had an intimate 32-year relationship with a Polish philosopher who is believed to have once declared her love to him while he was still a cardinal, according to letters discovered by the BBC.

There is no indication that the former pope, who died in 2005 and was made a saint by Pope Francis, had a sexual relationship with Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka or ever broke his vow of celibacy, but the correspondence sheds light on the depth of the relationship Pope John Paul II had with Tymieniecka when he was archbishop of Kraków, including the possibility that he struggled to come to terms with his feelings for her.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/15/pope-john-paul-ii-letters-reveal-32-year-relationship-with-woman?CMP=fb_us

[MohRokTah]

1. That just sort of humanizes the pontiff saint. eom

[nichomachus]

4. Catholic priests are not supposed to have "particular friendships" with women. eom

[MohRokTah]

5. Read the article. There is nothing to suggest he ever broke his vows of celibacy. eom

[hack89]

2. If he was celibate than no big deal.

he was, after all, human like the rest of us.

[nichomachus]

3. I beg to differ

I was in a Catholic seminary. A former co-worker, a woman, sent me a letter. Just a typical "Hey, how are things going" type of letter. You would have thought I had denied the Trinity. They considered tossing me out.

[Brickbat]

15. Being a student and having a leadership position are very different things and have different rules,

as in all organizations.

[MineralMan]

6. Celibacy is hard to maintain, I imagine.

I'm sure it has been the downfall of many priests, and in many ways. It seems to me to be a worthless concept, in general.

[clarice]

7. Maybe he was just camping...and she's a Jehovah's Witness?nt

[SummerSnow]

9. She does not look like she was with him camping. She looks like she approached him to talk.

[7wo7rees]

8. I love this picture! That is all. Oh and the story too. nt

[clarice]

10. Doesn't look like he had a problem erecting his tent...or maybe she helped him.nt

[a kennedy]

11. Now this is just wrong......

[clarice]

12. Glad you liked it. nt

[Nye Bevan]

13. Wow. The Pope was friends with a woman but never had sex with her?

This revelation will rock the Catholic Church to its very foundations.

[Odin2005]

14. No evidence he violated his vows, so calling her a "GF" is misleading.