Rome, Italy, Jul 12, 2013 / 12:07 pm
The director of L'Osservatore Romano, Giovanni Maria Vian, said Pope Francis' encyclical "Lumen Fidei" could be considered a "bridge" between two successors of St. Peter.
In an editorial published on July 6, Vian said, "The image of a bridge perhaps best represents the encyclical Lumen Fidei as an extraordinary text uniting the pontificates of Benedict XVI and his successor Francis."
He said that it "is not a coincidence" that the release of the encyclical, "in and of itself already quite out of the ordinary, was preceded a few hours earlier by the presentation of the document and later the historic announcement of the canonization of two authentically Christian and exemplary Popes: John XXIII and John Paul II."
The encounter between Pope Francis and Benedict XVI was a visible expression of the fraternity between the Bishop of Rome and his predecessor, he added.