World Notes DIPLOMACY

The two powerful men were natural rivals. One was the head of the officially atheistic regime of Poland, the other the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. So last week when General Wojciech Jaruzelski made his first official trip to Western Europe since he imposed martial law in 1981, his meeting with Pope John Paul II showed little promise of yielding substantive results.

Indeed, the Pope turned down Jaruzelski's offer to restore diplomatic relations with the Vatican and brought up Poland's human rights record. But Jaruzelski pronounced the meeting at least a partial success. Said he: "Two Poles must always understand each other."

During his visit to Italy, Jaruzelski also met with Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi and Fiat Chairman Giovanni Agnelli. The very fact of the meetings was a victory for Jaruzelski, who is striving to end Poland's isolation and re-establish financial ties with the West.