Zagreb (IKA) – Premier Ivo Sanader sent congratulations to the newly elected Pope Benedict XVI, in which he expressed the conviction that with the Pope’s enthusiasm and powerful intellect, he would pilot Peter’s boat successfully, bringing mankind the gift of faith. “I am certain that the friendship, cooperation and mutual respect between the Holy See and the Republic of Croatia, between you as the head of the Catholic Church and the Croatian nation, shall continue for the general good and my prayers, together with those of the Croatian faithful shall accompany you on your life’s path,” wrote Premier Sanader.

The President of the Republic of Croatia, Stjepan Mesić, on behalf of the citizens of the Republic of Croatia and on his own behalf, sent congratulations to the new head of the Catholic Church. “You have assumed an inheritance, not only from your immediate predecessor but from the long line of popes that began with St. Peter, in a world burdened with enormous problems and confronted with serious challenges. Such a world needs and seeks a high moral authority who, on the basis of the gospel and in the spirit of the Council, will be a guide to all of us at the beginning of the new millennium,” wrote President Mesić.