Press Release – The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, together with his Auxiliary Bishops and all the priests and faithful of the Diocese of the Holy Land learning the news of the Pope’s resignation, welcome with much gratitude the courage, moral wisdom and humility of Pope Benedict XVI, who has served with dedication the church for nearly eight years.
Everyone remembers the journey of the Holy Father to the Holy Land in 2009 and to Cyprus in 2010. These were events of strong symbolism for Christians, but also for Jews and Muslims.
It was with great joy but also with hope that the Christians of the Holy Land and the Middle East received the apostolic exhortation “Ecclesia in Medio Oriente”, the apotheosis of the Middle East Synod held in Rome in 2010, through which Eastern Christians have appreciated the counsel and instruction to be a communion and testimony in this region and the entire world.
The diocese of the Latin Patriarchate with emotion, prayer and meditation thanks from my heart Benedict XVI for his paternal affection and commitment to peace in the Holy Land and wish the Holy Father that the Virgin Mary accompanies this decision and the rest that awaits him.
