Former US politician makes documentary on John Paul II

WARSAW, Poland (AP):

Prominent United States Republican Newt Gingrich - a recent convert to Catholicism - is in Poland promoting a documentary he co-produced on Pope John Paul II's role in defeating communism.

In Poland, Gingrich, a former speaker of the house, is preaching to the converted: the Polish-born pope is revered, and Poles credit him with inspiring the struggle that eventually helped to defeat Soviet-backed communists in eastern Europe.

Gingrich said yesterday that his film, Nine Days that Changed the World, is needed to remind young Poles, secular historians and people worldwide of John Paul's anti-totalitarian convictions.

The film tracks a visit John Paul made to Poland in 1979 and the electrifying effect it had on Poland's anti-communist opposition.