[5] Dziwisz was appointed titular bishop of San Leone and joint head of the Prefecture of the Papal Household on 7 February 1998.

[citation needed] In 2013, Dziwisz said that Pope John Paul II had not resigned because of his failing health because he believed "you cannot come down from the cross".

According to rules created by John Paul, Dziwisz packed his belongings and vacated the papal apartments before they were sealed by the Camerlengo.

During the Requiem Mass for John Paul on 8 April, Dziwisz had the honour of placing a white silk veil over the face of the Pope before the body was lowered into three separate caskets.

[16] At the consistory of 24 March 2006 Dziwisz was raised to the rank of cardinal, becoming Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria del Popolo.

[17] On 6 May 2006 Pope Benedict named Dziwisz to be a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education and the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

Abraham Foxman, its president, said: "Cardinal Dziwisz is a valued friend to the Jewish people and someone I know I can trust and turn to in moments of tension or controversy."

For this reason, we note with shame that despite the unambiguous teachings of recent Popes on the appropriate attitudes of Catholics to Jews, many among us have not been able to overcome prejudices, inveterate resentments and harmful stereotypes.In 2012 Dziwisz, as part of a broader trip, visited parishes with a significant Polish presence in the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, in the United States.

Dziwisz supported Roman Catholic priest Marcial Maciel Degollado of Mexico, the founder of the Legion of Christ and the Regnum Christi movement.

Dziwisz was instrumental in blocking an investigation into allegations of child abuse against the late Benedictine Cardinal Hans Hermann Groër, archbishop of Vienna.

[citation needed] Groer, who died in 2003, headed the Vienna archdiocese and presided over the influential Austrian episcopal conference.