Pope Benedict XVI’s Bavarian house in Pentling next to Regensburg, will be getting almost 600 square feet of
photovoltaic solar panels.

They were intended to be installed on the roof July 27-31, by local students of a trade school. The panels were donated to the Pope by local workmen.

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Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, applauded His Holiness Pope Benedictus XVI Joseph A. Ratzinger in a statement, for this “environment friendly move and frequent calls to save the planet and curb environmental degradation.”

Zed, who is president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, urged all world religious leaders, religions and denominations to openly bless the environmental causes. Ancient Hindu scriptures, especially Atharva-Veda, were highly respectful of mother nature, he added.

“We may believe in different religions, yet we share the same home—our Earth. We must learn to happily progress or miserably perish together. For man can live individually but can only survive collectively,” Rajan Zed said, quoting scriptures.

Zed may soon have even more reasons to heap praise on Pope Benedict, as Vatican officials are reportedly considering building a 740 acre solar array on land it owns north of Rome and selling excess electricity back to the Italian grid.

Image: Jeremy Burgin via flickr under a Creative Commons License