CHICAGO () -- A Polish group has criticized advice columnist Ann Landers for using an ethnic slur -- "polack" -- to refer to Pope John Paul II during an interview. She said she was sorry for using a "slang term.''


"Ethnic groups throughout this country have fought to get rid of these slurs against all of us and then Ann Landers throws one out,'' said Edward Dykla, president of the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America.


In a profile in this week's issue of The New Yorker, Landers described her impression of Pope John Paul II: "Looks like an angel. He has the face of an angel,'' Landers said. "His eyes are sky blue, and his cheeks are pink and adorable-looking, and he has a sweet sense of humor. Of course, he's a polack,'' she laughingly told the interviewer. "They're very anti-woman.''