Zagreb (IKA) – I believe that we Croatians once again have a friend of our nation, announced Auxiliary Bishop Josip Mrzljak of Zagreb, commenting on the news of the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the new Pope. He noted that many will perhaps call the new Pope conservative but he is simply a man of faith. He will certainly give a particular imprint to his pontificate and therefore chose the name of Benedict XVI, said Bishop Mrzljak, recalling that Pope Benedict XV as the head of the Roman Catholic Church during the First World War, was a peacemaker and sought to reconcile the nations. “And now we are again living in difficult times when wars are erupting in the world. Therefore, peacemaking will certainly be one of the main characteristics of the pontificate of the new Pope, and he will certainly safeguard the harmony of faith in the best possible way, as he has done up to now,” said Bishop Mrzljak.
In his opinion, the election of Joseph Ratzinger as the new Pope is also a continuation of the pontificate of Pope John Paul II. “However,” he added, “I should say that popes are not the successors of each other but that all of them are the successors of St. Peter. Each imprints his own gifts, talents and style on his pontificate.”