President of the Bishops' Conference of Slovakia (KBS) Bernard Bober expresses his condolences on the death of Pope Francis. On behalf of the KBS and all the faithful in Slovakia, he expressed his sincere condolences to the whole Church. As he said, Pope Francis was able to reach out not only to Catholics, but to all people of good will. In his address, Archbishop Bober recalled the Pope's visit to Slovakia in September 2021, "during which he reminded us of the importance of fraternity, solidarity, and openness towards the most vulnerable". He also recalled the welcome that the Slovak faithful received last year during the Ad Limina Apostolorum visit to Rome and the Vatican.
Slovak President Peter Pellegrini reacted to the death of Pope Francis, stating on social media that we’ve been left without a man who charmed everyone with his humanity, modesty, and wisdom. “He was the embodiment of humility and humanity, a convinced advocate of peace and an opponent of all evil,” stated Pellegrini, adding that he had the honour to meet the Holy Father twice.
Zuzana Čaputová, Slovak President at the time of Pope Francis’ visit to Slovakia in 2021, posted that they talked a lot about how to overcome conflicts in society and in the world. “He repeated that only with love [can we overcome conflicts],” wrote the former Slovak President, adding that the Pope disliked intolerance, rudeness, and violence exactly because such attitudes lacked love and compassion.
Ministers and both coalition and opposition MPs reacted appropriately to the news of the Pope's death by expressing their condolences. Several praised his modesty, humanity, and relationship with Slovakia.
Pope Francis visited Slovakia in September 2021. Radio Slovakia International covered the event. More here:
https://enrsi.stvr.sk/articles/news/268392/popes-visit-to-slovakia
https://enrsi.stvr.sk/articles/news/268291/pope-francis-in-sastin-celebrates-our-lady-of-sorrows
https://enrsi.stvr.sk/articles/news/268210/pope-francis-visiting-eastern-slovakia
https://enrsi.stvr.sk/articles/society/269771/erika-godlova-roma-people-have-been-neglected-by-catholic-church-for-too-long
https://enrsi.stvr.sk/articles/news/268138/pope-francis-slovakia-predestined-to-be-messenger-of-peace
https://enrsi.stvr.sk/articles/news/268129/foreign-media-about-popes-visit
