With a communiqué issued on 22 November, Cardinal Karl Lehmann, president of the German Bishops’ Conference, congratulated Angela Merkel on her election as Chancellor by the Bundestag. “I wish you good luck and God’s blessing in the exercise of your office for the good of our community”, writes Lehmann. “In the next legislature, you and the government you lead shall have to carry out important tasks. They include the reduction of unemployment and social injustice, the reinforcement of social security systems and of the economy, the consolidation of the public finances, the safeguard of marriage and the family, the creation of a framework of conditions for a society favourable to children, the protection of human life and respect for the inalienable dignity of the person in all phases of life, the conservation of the creation, the commitment to universal justice in response to the humanitarian emergencies in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and the defence of peace beyond European frontiers”. The cardinal reaffirms the “consciousness of the Catholic Church of its own co-responsibility for the community” and her commitment to tackling society’s problems. As regards the necessary reforms, it is important, according to Lehmann, “to formulate them in such a way that people may understand the individual phases of the reforms and enable them to recognize they are being introduced for the good of everyone and that politics are there to serve the interests of the community” and not the other way round. In wishing Angela Merkel “lots of strength, good health, ability, good luck and God’s blessing in everything”, the President of the German bishops promises the prayers and support of the bishops “for the good of each person in our country and of all our people”.
