Immediately after the election of the German cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Supreme Pontiff with the name of Benedict XVI, the Slovene bishops issued a brief statement in which they “thank God for his election and, in communion with the whole Slovenian Church”, express to the new Pope “filial devotion and the warmest good wishes in […]

In the view of the general secretary of the Greek Episcopal Conference, Msgr. Nikolaos Printezis, archbishop of Naxou-Tinou, the rapid election of Benedict XVI “is the confirmation of a convergence of the College of Cardinals and of the unity of the Church. The hope is – he added – that the new Pontiff may continue […]

In an interview with the Austrian Catholic Kathpress agency, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, archbishop of Vienna, expressed his joy in the election of Benedict XVI. According to the archbishop, the choice of the name indicates “in itself his programme in its fundamental principles, both in consideration of his predecessor Benedict XV (during the First World War) […]

The Hungarian bishops have expressed the hope that the new pontificate may “bring benefits not only to the Church but to the whole of humanity”. Msgr. András Veres, secretary of the Hungarian Bishops’ Conference, said he was “very happy that the new Pope had been elected so rapidly”. Benedict XVI, declared Msgr. Veres in an […]

“According to the results of some opinion polls published by Croatian agencies it emerges that 70% of the population is happy about this choice”, says Father Zeljiko Tanjic, professor of fundamental theology at the University of Zagreb, in a briefing to SIR. Father Tanjic underlines the importance of the name chosen by the new Pope. […]

“We are very happy about the election of Cardinal Ratzinger as pope. We admire, in particular, his attention to spirituality and the liturgy”, says Msgr. Marian Gavenda in a comment to SIR, expressing all the satisfaction of the Slovak episcopate in the nomination of Benedict XVI. “Throughout the country – he says – the interest […]

“We consider it very significant that the new pontiff was elected on the day in which the Byzantine Church – according to the Julian calendar – celebrates the memory of St. Methodius, one of the two Apostles of the Slavs”, said the Apostolic Visitator for the Greek-Catholics of Belarus, Archimandrite Sergio Gajek, in a briefing […]

“The Catholics of Russia welcome the election of the new Pope with gratitude to God and hope, and consider him a great gift. They express to him their devotion and obedience. They see in him the good shepherd who will lead them into the new age, who will take care of them, and who will […]

The Swiss Bishops’ Conference, in a statement issued on Tuesday to announce the election of the new Pope to the country, “pledges its fidelity and prayer to the successor of Peter, Pope Benedict XVI, and raises an invocation to God that the paths of Christian unity may increasingly converge”. “Habemus Papam” – we have a […]

The president of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference Msgr. Ricardo Blázquez and its general secretary Father Juan Antonio Martínez Camino have written a letter expressing their “complete and affectionate filial devotion” on behalf of all the bishops. The Spanish Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, has also expressed his wish to “maintain the historic relations between […]