" She was one of a handful of people by his bedside when he died, and visited him in the hospital when he survived an assassination attempt.
"In the cloistered universe of the Vatican, Pope John Paul II had a woman friend with whom he shared spiritual thoughts in a series of letters that spanned the decades. Now she is defending her recent book of correspondence with the pope against criticism from church officials that she "exaggerated" her friendship with the late pontiff and could delay his beatification.
"Wanda Poltawska, 87, said her book — a collection of her religious meditations and John Paul's letters of spiritual guidance — was harmless to his saint-making process and she dismissed those who sought to minimize her friendship with the Polish-born John Paul.
MONIKA SCISLOWSKA and NICOLE WINFIELD reporting for Associated Press.
