CNN
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Pope Francis led tributes to his predecessor on Saturday, after Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died in a monastery in the Vatican on the age of 95.
“We are moved as we recall him as such a noble person, so kind and we feel such gratitude in our hearts, gratitude to god for giving him to the church, and to the world,” Francis stated in Saint Peter’s Basilica whereas main conventional vespers ceremony forward of New Year’s Day.
“Gratitude to him for all the good he accomplished and above all for his witness of faith and prayer, especially in these last years of his life. Only God knows the value of his sacrifices for the good of the church,” Francis added.
Benedict, who was the primary pontiff in virtually 600 years to resign his place, quite than maintain workplace for all times, handed away on Saturday, in keeping with an announcement from the Vatican.
“With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican,” the Director of the Press Office of the Holy See, Matteo Bruni stated.
Francis went to see Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI quickly after he handed away Saturday morning, in keeping with Bruni.
The funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will likely be held on Thursday in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican City at 9:30 a.m. native time, Bruni stated. The funeral will likely be led by Pope Francis.
The former pope’s physique will lie in state in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican from Monday for the trustworthy to bid farewell, Vatican News reported. As per the want of Pope Emeritus, his funeral will likely be “simple,” Bruni stated.
News of Benedict’s demise got here days after Pope Francis asked the faithful to pray for him, saying he was “very sick.”
His well being had been in decline for a while.
Benedict shocked the Catholic trustworthy and spiritual specialists world wide on February 11, 2013, when he introduced plans to step down from his place as Pope, citing his “advanced age.”
In his farewell tackle, the outgoing pope promised to remain “hidden” from the world, however he continued to talk out on spiritual issues in the years following his retirement, contributing to tensions inside the Catholic Church.
Benedict was a robust power in the Catholic Church for many years. Born Joseph Ratzinger in Germany in 1927, he was the son of a policeman. He was ordained as a priest in 1951, made a cardinal in 1977, and later served as chief theological adviser to Pope John Paul II.
One of his most important steps up got here in 1981 when he took over as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, the Vatican workplace that oversees “the doctrine on the faith and morals throughout the Catholic world,” in keeping with the Vatican.
Ratzinger grew to become referred to as “Cardinal No” stemming from his efforts to crack down on the liberation theology motion, spiritual pluralism, challenges to conventional teachings on points similar to homosexuality, and calls to ordain girls as clergymen.
He was elected pope in April 2005, following John Paul II’s demise.
He was recognized to be extra conservative than his successor, Pope Francis, who has made strikes to melt the Vatican’s place on abortion and homosexuality, in addition to doing extra to cope with the sexual abuse disaster that has engulfed the church in current years and clouded Benedict’s legacy.
In April 2019, Benedict mentioned the intercourse abuse disaster in a public letter, claiming that it was precipitated in half by the sexual revolution of the Sixties and the liberalization of the church’s ethical teachings.
In January 2020, Benedict was pressured to distance himself from a e-book broadly seen as undercutting Francis as he thought of whether or not or to not permit married males to change into clergymen in sure circumstances. The e-book, “From the Depths of Our Hearts,” argued in favor of the centuries-old custom of priestly celibacy inside the Catholic Church. Benedict was initially listed as co-author, however later clarified that he had solely contributed one part of the textual content.
A yr later, Benedict got here below fireplace over his time as archbishop of Munich and Freising, between 1977 and 1982, following the publication of a Church-commissioned report into abuse by Catholic clergy there.
The report discovered that whereas in the put up he had been knowledgeable of 4 circumstances of sexual abuse involving minors – together with two that had occurred throughout his time in workplace – however didn’t act. It additionally revealed Benedict had attended a gathering about an abuser recognized as Priest X. Following the report’s publication, Benedict pushed again in opposition to accusations that he knew in 1980 that this priest was an abuser.
In a letter launched by the Vatican amid the furor, Benedict wrote that he was “of good cheer” as he confronted “the final judge of my life,” regardless of his shortcomings. He additionally issued a basic apology to survivors of abuse.
Global leaders paid homage to the previous pope, following his demise. Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Church of England, stated he’s “mourning” the previous pope.
“Pope Benedict was one of the greatest theologians of his age – committed to the faith of the Church and stalwart in its defence,” Welby stated in an announcement Saturday.
“In all issues, not least in his writing and his preaching, he seemed to Jesus Christ, the picture of the invisible God. It was abundantly clear that Christ was the basis of his thought and the premise of his prayer.
“In 2013 Pope Benedict took the courageous and humble step to resign the papacy, the first Pope to do so since the fifteenth century. In making this choice freely he acknowledged the human frailty that affects us all,” he added.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, stated he’ll keep in mind the previous pope with “love and gratitude.”
“Saddened to learn of the demise of His Holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI,” European Parliament President Roberta Metsola tweeted Saturday.
“Europe mourns him. May he rest in peace.”
The chief of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, on Saturday advised Pope Francis he had acquired information of Benedict’s passing with “sorrow,” in keeping with the message shared on the official web site of the Moscow Patriarchate.
“His Holiness’s many years of life marked a whole epoch in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, which he led in a difficult historical period, associated with many external and internal challenges,” Kirill stated of Benedict.
Kirill added relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church had “developed significantly” throughout Benedict’s tenure, in an effort to “overcome the sometimes-painful legacy of the past.”
“On behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church, I express my condolences to you and the flock of the Roman Catholic Church,” he continued.
The Dalai Lama on Sunday supplied his condolences to the members of the Catholic Church after Benedict’s demise.
“I pray for our spiritual brother,” he wrote, “and offer my condolences to the members of the Catholic Church.”
“At a time when we are seeing tension in several parts of the world, we can take a lesson from the life of Pope Benedict and do what we can to contribute to religious harmony and global peace.”
US President Joe Biden stated the late pontiff “will be remembered as a renowned theologian, with a lifetime of devotion to the Church, guided by his principles and faith.”
Biden, the second Catholic to function President of the United States, mirrored on his assembly with Benedict on the Vatican in 2011, saying he remembered “his generosity and welcome as well as our meaningful conversation.”
“As he remarked during his 2008 visit to the White House, ‘the need for global solidarity is as urgent as ever, if all people are to live in a way worthy of their dignity.’ May his focus on the ministry of charity continue to be an inspiration to us all,” Biden added.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak additionally paid tribute. “I am saddened to learn of the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI,” Sunak tweeted Saturday.
“He was an important theologian whose UK go to in 2010 was an historic second for each Catholics and non-Catholics all through our nation.
Italy’s new Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni voiced her admiration for the previous pope. “Benedict XVI was a giant of faith and reason. He put his life at the service of the universal Church and spoke, and will continue to speak, to the hearts and minds of men with the spiritual, cultural and intellectual depth of his Magisterium,” she tweeted Saturday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who’s main Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, known as the previous pope “a staunch defender of traditional Christian values.”
