Inside Report (3)

Poles in and out of government are wondering what will happen if Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski has to step down. Now in his 80th year and indisposed, the Roman Catholic primate has been a key figure in Polish affairs and a rock-like defender of church rights. Four times since 1956 the communist regime has been rocked by popular unrest and each time had no alternative but to look to the cardinal for support in order to survive.

One possible successor: Franciszek Cardinal Macharski, who was appointed Archbishop of Krakow when its f ormer incumbent became Pope John Paul II.m