( dpa ) - Germany's Catholic bishops elected Robert Zollitsch, archbishop of Freiburg in the south-west of the country, as their new spokesman and chairman.
Zollitsch, 69, succeeds Cardinal Karl Lehmann, bishop of Mainz, who is retiring after 21 years because of heart problems. Germany's 25 million Catholics are organized in 27 dioceses.
Zollitsch has been an archbishop since June 2003.