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Deccan Herald » Foreign » Detailed Story
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Worthy successor, says Schroeder
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Berlin, reuters:
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German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder described German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as a worthy successor to John Paul II, saying his election to lead the Roman Catholic church was a great honour for Germany.
“That the new Pope Benedict XVI comes from Germany, that is a great honour for our whole country,” Mr Schroeder said in a brief news conference.
“In Pope Benedict XVI, a pope has been chosen who knows the world Church like no one else. He is a great, world-renowned theologian. Pope Benedict XVI is a worthy successor to Pope John Paul II.” He added he looked forward to welcoming him to World Youth Day, a Catholic youth rally to be held in Cologne in August.
Annan’s congratulations
Congratulating Pope Benedict XVI on his assumption of the papacy, Secretary General Kofi Annan on Tuesday said that United Nations and the Holy See share a strong commitment to peace, social justice, human dignity, religious freedom and mutual respect among world’s religions, PTI adds from United Nations.
“The Secretary-General looks forward to the contributions His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI will make in strengthening those values,” Annan’s spokesman said.
Nigerian Catholics warmly welcomed the election of Pope Benedict XVI today, brushing aside any disappointment that their leading papal candidate Cardinal Francis Arinze lost the race, AFP adds from Eziowelle .
Even in Arinze’s home village of Eziowelle, a poor farming community in the west African giant’s southern forests, there was joy that the church had chosen a new champion. “Since he has been chosen by divine inspiration, all Catholics will work with him. “We don't feel bad at all,” said Father Chinedu Nwafor, the priest at St Edward’s Church, to which Arinze returns once a year from Rome to pray.
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Wednesday, April 20, 2005
