John Paul ordered the notes burned after his death and put his trusted confidant, the Rev Stanislaw Dziwisz, in charge of the task. To everyone's surprise, Dziwisz, now a cardinal, said recently that he "did not have the courage" to destroy the notes and is having them published as a precious insight into the inner life of the beloved pontiff, who will be declared a saint in April.
The book "Very Much in God's Hands. Personal Notes 1962-2003" comes out in Poland tomorrow.
"I don't think it is right for a church member to go against the will and authority of the pope, whatever the reason," Ewelina Gniewnik said as she was leaving Savior's Church in downtown Warsaw. "I'm not sure that Cardinal Dziwisz knows what he is doing."
The Polish-language book contains religious meditations that Karol Wojtyla recorded between July 1962 and March 2003 spanning a period in which he went from being a bishop in Poland to a globe-trotting superstar pope. There are plans to publish the book in English and other languages but no details have been fixed.
Still some are expressing shock that a trusted aide would disobey the orders of the pope, especially on a matter as sacred as a will with the Internet flooded with angry comments against Dziwisz.