New Pope reaches out to other religions

Pope Benedict XVI today pledged to work to unify all Christians and to continue implementing the Second Vatican Council, as he outlined his goals following an election that sent a signal the church was intent on sticking to tradition as it confronted 21st-century problems.

Benedict, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, listed top priorities of his Pontificate in a message read in Latin to cardinals gathered in the Sistine Chapel for the first Mass celebrated by the 265th leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

He said his “primary task” would be to work without fail to reunify all Christians and that sentiment alone was not enough. “Concrete acts that enter souls and move consciences are needed,” he said.

He said he wanted to continue “an open and sincere dialogue” with other religions and would do everything in his power to improve the ecumenical cause.

The message was clearly designed to show Benedict was intent on following many of the groundbreaking paths charted by Pope John Paul II, who had made reaching out to other religions and trying to heal the 1,000-year-old schism in Christianity a hallmark of his Pontificate.

Benedict referred to John Paul several times in his message, including a reference to the late Pope’s final will, where John Paul said he hoped new generations would draw on the work of the Second Vatican Council, the 1962-65 meeting that modernised the church.

“I too … want to affirm with decisive willingness to follow in the commitment of carrying out the Second Vatican Council, in the wake of my predecessors and in faithful continuity with the 2,000-year-old tradition of the church,” he said.