.- During the opening of a conference on Pope Benedict XVI, the chaplain of the international Catholic association Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Father Joaquin Allende, emphasized the importance of the Pope’s presence and work in today’s society.
Father Allende said Benedict XVI is “a Pope for the times in which agreements must give way to convictions” and that therefore Catholics ought to be grateful to the Holy Spirit, “who has given us a Pope with the rare gift of going directly to the mystery of the human person, while at the same respecting his freedom.”
The presence of the Pontiff has been one of the central themes at the annual “Peoples in Europe” conference, taking place in the German city of Passau.
Attendees at the conference include former Czech president Vaclav Havel, former Polish president Lech Walesa, and German president Horst Köhler.
