Vatican City, Jun 28, 2011 / 11:26 am
Pope Benedict appointed Cardinal Angelo Scola of Venice as the new archbishop of the influential Archdiocese of Milan on June 28.
“I welcomed this decision of the Pope, because it is the Pope,” said the 70-year-old native of Milan to the Italian news agency ANSA.
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Milan is the most populous in Italy and one of the most influential in the Catholic Church. In the 2oth century two holders of the office have gone onto the papacy – Pope Pius XI and Pope Paul VI.
Cardinal Scola’s appointment was significant enough that Italian President Giorgio Napolitano sent him a congratulatory telegram. “I am sure that the work of Your Eminence will be a source of inspiration for the search for the common good, in a spirit of harmony and solidarity,” the president said.