Newspapers on Monday read that Romania's President Traian Basescu did not miss a chance to invite Pope Benedict XVI to Bucharest while in Vatican but failed to get the approval of the Orthodox Church back home. Elsewhere in the news, Romanians can now opt for environmental solutions to get natural gas and heating. Last but not least, youngsters escape the law when it comes to reckless driving.
Romania's President Traian Basescu did not miss the chance to invite Pope Benedict XVI to Romania while in an official visit at the Vatican, Cotidianul reads. 10 years after Pope John Paul II became the first Pope to visit the country, it looks like his successor might repeat the process.
However, the newspaper reads that Basescu did not have the approval of the Romanian Orthodox Church for the invitation. Romanian news agency Mediafax informs, quoting sources within the presidential administration that Basescu reiterated the invitation submitted back in 2006.
Basescu took the chance to thank the Pope for his attitude towards migration and for his support for the Romanian community in Italy. In an official press release, Romanian Orthodox Church representatives declared that the Patriarch had a telephone conversation with Basescu and they agreed that such an invitation is possible at the level of the state.
What's more, the press release underlines the fact that Basescu will need the approval of the Holy Synod like in the case of the invitation of Pope John Paul II in Romania back in 1999. According to the Vatican's protocol, in order for a Pope to be able to visit a non-Catholic country, he needs the approval of the Church and not that of the State he is to visit.
Elsewhere in the news, Romania Libera reads that Romanians can now opt for an environmental system to get their needed natural gas and heating for a 3,300 e
