Will the Pope come to Slovenia as well? Saje: Expectations are high
Slovenian bishops welcome a new pope and are looking forward to his pontiff, he stressed at a press conference dr. Andrej Saje, President of the Slovenian Bishops’ Conference. He too related to the first words Robert Francis Translatedwhen it is like Pope Leon XIV. stepped in front of the believers: Peace with all of you. « In his address, the Pope highlighted the message of peace several times and emphasized that » God loves us unconditionally « . He emphasized unity, compassion and concern for the suffering, « Saje said, so the Catholic Church in Slovenia is looking forward to all these program messages of the new pope.
As Saje said, he did not expect to be elected to the Pope. But since he had already met him in the past and had the opportunity to talk to him, he was very happy to appoint him, saying that « we need attention for this time when we need compassion. This was also in the style of Francis, when he said that the church should approach people, and the popes descend from the thrones and try to understand the everyday man. «
They mentioned the favorites in the public, but they were mostly created by the media, he said. “What were the favorites among the cardinals, I don’t know. As we know, they have been coming since the death of Pope Francis and certainly had their favorites, AO did not say much, « he replied to the press question.
He says a lot that they chose it very quickly
One of his tasks in the role of the Pope will be the appointment of dicasteries. As a new pope, everything can start again, but they assume that he will continue Francis’ work. His travels and his program guidelines will be known in the coming days. As Saje concludes, it will be partly true to Pope Francis, partly to his Augustine spirituality. “That’s why he probably got this name. Leon I., who lived somewhere in St. Augustine, also dealt with peace issues and was very active in his efforts for peace at the time of the dissolution of the Roman Empire. «
Can Slovenia expect a visit to a new pope? According to Andrej Saje, expectations about this are great, as well as wishes, but visit is a matter of agreement with the state authorities. So far, they have repeatedly expressed their invitation to the Pope to come to Slovenia, but some conditions must also be fulfilled. « It is not enough to take pictures and have a holy Mass, » he noted, but in society, there must be a shift to open to the spiritual values and for the mission of the Catholic Church, the pope must also have a reason to visit, usually the proclamation of a saint or an important anniversary.
Asked whether the Pope binds some ties with Slovenia, he replied that in the past, in the past he was a monastery in Ljubljana in the past, that is, a monastery of the nuns who belonged to them but was abolished by Josephine reforms. There are no Augustine in Slovenia now, but we have other orders, so Saje believes that the Pope will help the Pope’s experience of monastic life, managerial services and intercultural experience to « understand us better Slovenes better. »
