President Peres congratulates the new Pope and invites him to visit Israel

President Shimon Peres, today (Thursday, 14 March 2013), at his Jerusalem residence, during a meeting with the leaders of the Catholic Church in Poland, welcomed the new Pope. President Peres said, "The newly elected Pope represents devotion, the love of God, the love of peace, a holy modesty and a new continent which is now awakening. We need, more than ever, a spiritual leadership and not just a political one. Where political leaders may divide, spiritual leaders may unite. Unite around a vision, unite around values, unite around a faith that we can make the world a better place to live. May the Lord Bless the new Pope."

President Peres invited the new Pope to visit Israel and said, "I would like to take this opportunity to invite the newly elected Pope to pay a visit to the Holy Land at the earliest possibility. He'll be a welcome guest in the Holy Land, as a man of inspiration that can add to the attempt to bring peace in a stormy area. All people here, without exception, without difference of religion or nationality will welcome the newly elected Pope."

Addressing relations with the Vatican President Peres said, "The relations between the Vatican and the Jewish people are now at their best in the last 2000 years and I hope they will grow in content and depths."

President Peres also spoke about the outgoing Pope and said, "I have much respect for the resigned Pope, Benedict, I found him a dear friend of our people, a profound thinker and he really contributed so much to bringing together, historically and otherwise, the relations between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people. I'm sure that the new Pope, Francis, will continue. He will remind all of us , as a shepherd of our time, that the Lord loves the poor not only the mighty, that the Lord calls us to peace not for hatred, that the Lord calls us to serve each other, to build a world where people are together without hatred."

ACDP congratulates new Pope of Roman Catholic Church

The ACDP wishes to congratulate Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the new Pope Francis I of the Roman Catholic Church, and the first Latin American to assume office of such stature in the Catholic faith.

With a rise in secular humanism across the globe, and the steady decline in morals, norms and values, encapsulated in the Bible, it is heartening to note that Pope Francis has a readiness to challenge powerful interest groups. An example of this is seen when in 2010, he challenged the Argentine government when it backed a gay marriage bill. He is quoted as saying, “Let’s not be naïve. This isn’t a simple political fight, it’s an attempt to destroy God’s plan.”

The ACDP believes that such men, are a rare, as many bow to the whims and dictates of the politically correct in today’s society, not having the courage of their convictions to challenge the gross moral and social inequalities in society which are perpetrated by the few who occupy positions of power.

The ACDP shares the view of Pope Francis, that “the Church should have a missionary role, that gets out to meet people, and that is active.”

Once again, the ACDP expresses its congratulations and best wishes to Pope Francis to what is an important and influential spiritual position for Christians, particularly, those of the Catholic Church.