Pope marks 5th election anniversary

(April 19, 2010) Pope Benedict XVI on Monday marked the 5th anniversary of his election as Pope. Some 70 cardinals residing in Rome lunched with him in the Vatican to mark the occasion. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope in a conclave in the Vatican on April 19, 2005, following the death of Pope John Paul II earlier on April 2. Italy’s Catholic bishops organized special prayer initiatives for the Pontiff on the 5^th anniversary of his election. "In this hour of trial the Church of Italy will not fall short of its duty of purification, praying particularly for the victims of priests’ sexual abuse and for those stained by such loathsome crimes in every part of the world,” said Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, the president of the Italian bishops’ conference. He was referring to the child sex abuse scandal by members of the clergy rattling the Church worldwide. Earlier Sunday night when Pope Benedict was flying back from his visit to Malta, the country’s flagship carrier Air Malta offered him a cake to mark his 5^th anniversary on Monday. No public engagement is held by the Pope on his election anniversary day, which is a holiday in the Vatican.