“A man of great spirituality, a wonde rful choice as Pontiff of the Catholic Church”, declared the Scottish cardinal Keith O’Brien, expressing all his joy after the election of Benedict XVI. Present as an elector at the Conclave, the cardinal expressed the hope that “the new Pope would work for peace in the world following in the footsteps of Benedict XV. May St. Benedict, one of the patrons of Europe, help us never to forget the Christian roots of Europe and may the new Pope always remind the faithful of the last words of the Benedictine Rule, ‘place nothing before Christ'”. Favourable reactions have also been expressed by the English episcopate: Bishop Crispian Hollis of Portsmouth, in a letter addressed to the new pope, promises “the prayers of the faithful for the voice of the new head of the Church to confirm us in the faith”. Bishop Arthur Roche of Leeds stresses the rapidity with which the new pope was chosen: an indication, in his view, of the “great confidence of the cardinals in the abilities of the new pontiff to lead the Church”.
