Pope Benedict XVI receives Albania’s bishops

ROME, May 25 – Pope Benedict XVI received Albania’s Bishops in audience at the conclusion of the Ad Limina Visit last week. The pope said that their country had suffered much under the atheism of the former Communist government that has left the bishops with the mission to again proclaim the Gospel’s message of hope and freedom.
Benedict XVI said his Polish predecessor was able to help the Church in Albania recover from the “dark night of communist dictatorship.”
The Holy Father recalled how “following the dark night of the communist dictatorship,” the Church in Albania “was providentially able to recover, thanks also to the apostolic strength” of Pope John Paul II, who visited the country in 1993, “reconstituting the Catholic hierarchy for the good of believers and of the Albanian people.” The Pope mentioned health care, education and factors, “which favor positive collaboration among the various elements of society and their respective religious traditions.”
Noting that the prelates face the phenomenon of emigration, both within and outside the country, he stressed the need to engage in dialogue with bishops from other countries, “in order to offer necessary and urgent pastoral assistance.”
Benedict XVI congratulated the prelates on the agreements signed recently with the Albanian state: “I trust that these provisions may aid the spiritual reconstruction of the country, given the positive role the Church plays in society.” (Tirana Times Staff)