Poland Invites New Pope
Poland’s state and church authorities have extended an invitation to Pope Bendict XVI to visit Poland, hoping that it will be one of his first pilgrimages, president Aleksander Kwasniewski has said.
"It would be, as I understand it, a tribute paid by all of us to John Paul II," the president told the Polish news agency PAP.
"It would also be a symbolic event in a different dimension, as the head of the Church is now a representative of the German nation, with whom we achieved reconciliation after centuries of difficult history and are building a common Europe together. This is a good sign for Poland," president Kwasniewski noted.
He added that the new pope has many ties with Poland and hopes that the Pontiff will maintain and strengthen them. Western media believe that Poland will be one of the first countries, perhaps even the first country, visited by Pope Benedict XVI.