GERMANY
Catholic Herald (United Kingdom)
The president of the German bishops’ conference has asked Pope Benedict XVI’s forgiveness for “errors committed against him” in his homeland, adding that most Germans respect him as a “spiritual and intellectual authority”.
Archbishop Robert Zollitsch of Freiburg im Breisgau said: “After eight years, we feel a deep, overriding respect and gratitude, but also a sadness – farewells always hurt, especially when they concern people familiar and revered. The Pope has asked forgiveness for his own shortcomings. I would also ask the Holy Father, in return, to pardon errors committed against him within the Church in Germany,” the archbishop said in his opening address to the German bishops’ spring plenary.
His remarks were an apparent reference to media criticisms of the Pope, especially during his September 2011 visit to Berlin. Archbishop Zollitsch said all Germans had “in some sense shared the honour” bestowed on the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger at his 2005 election as pope.
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