Rijeka (IKA) – “The Church and world can anticipate with certainty that this Pope, with the same engagement and steadfastness as John Paul II, will continue to promote the renewal of the Church, its openness to the world, dialogue and especially the rights of poor and endangered nations and groups. He will labor effectively to implement the directives of the Second Vatican Council, in which he participated as a theologian,” announced Archbishop Ivan Devčić on the occasion of the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope.
“Benedict XVI will certainly do this in a different manner, because every person is unique. However, we need not doubt that he will accompany modern humankind on its historical path and will guide the Church on this path with the same genuine love as did John Paul II.” The archbishop of Rijeka thanked God for such a learned and experienced Pope, who had spent a great part of his life as a professor in academic circles, a Pope who had performed pastoral work as the archbishop of the Munich Archdiocese, and a Pope who for two and a half decades had worked in the center of the Catholic Church as the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It is almost not possible to desire better preparation for such an exalted and responsible office and therefore it is not necessary to fear that he will not know how to steer Peter’s boat.
Commenting that the directions the new Pope will take could be inferred from his chosen name of Benedict XVI, Archbishop Devčić concluded that in choosing this name, the Pope wanted to emphasize that he would continue to promote the renewal of the Christian roots of contemporary secularized Europe during his pontificate, as his predecessor had done.
“It is furthermore obvious that the new Pope, following the example of Benedict XV, will promote peacemaking in the world and, like Benedict XV, renew the Church from within while also opening it to the world, all in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council. Therefore, I view the future of the Church under the leadership of Benedict XVI with great hope and confidence,” said Archbishop Devčić.