The Secrets of Saint John Paul
In 2014, BBC broadcaster Edward Stourton was ushered into a room in one of Europe's most celebrated libraries. Watched over by its director, he was shown a pile of papers so sensitive that only a handful of staff knew of their existence.
They were the intimate letters of a saint - Pope John Paul II - to a Polish-American woman, Anna-Theresa Tymieniecka, a fellow philosopher and translator for his book, The Acting Person. They testify to an intimate side of his life the Vatican has kept secret for decades. They crackle with human emotion as they meditate on the nature of love and human relationships. They reflect his struggle against Communism in Poland, and his shaping of Catholicism into the spiritual wellspring of an opposition movement that would - as he had always believed - bring about a revolution and sweep away the Soviet Empire.
This documentary reveals these letters to the world for the first time - opening an unprecedented window into the inner life of a man in the act of making history.
VIDEO USAGE RIGHTS
Why the AV version? Because it provides additional usage options for PBS videos. AV versions come with limited performance rights so they can be shown in classrooms, at PTA meetings, during after school programs, and transmitted on a closed-circuit system within a building or on a single campus. They also can be enjoyed in admission-free public screenings, which also makes them ideal for use by library patrons and businesses involved in community clubs and organizations.