Heads of government and prominent Catholics worldwide will commemorate the death of emeritus Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz names his compatriot Joseph Ratzinger Twitter a “special church leader” to many, who helped form the Roman Catholic Church. Prime Minister Mark Rutte writes on the same medium that Catholics have lost “an important spiritual and intellectual leader” who is remembered “with respect.”
Read the obituary here: Pope Benedict XVI never became a real pastor of souls
Scholz argues that Benedict XVI as “German pope” was not only a special man for his compatriots. Ratzinger, who died at the age of 95, he said, was a “combatant personality and a clever theologian.” French President Emmanuel Macron say that his thoughts go out to Catholics in France and around the world: “Saddened by the passing of His Holiness Benedict XVI, who devoted his soul and intellect to a fraternal world.”
The Dutch Bishops’ Conference asks believers to pray for the peace of mind of Benedict XVI. Bishop Hans van den Hende of the diocese of Rotterdam, chairman of the Bishops’ Conference, quotes the encyclical written in 2009 by the pope Charity in Veritate in which Benedict XVI points out that love is the common thread in the social teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. Van den Hende also recalls a brief meeting he had in 2007 with the then pope, in which, according to him, the latter “again testified to his belief that we as a Church always need the love of Christ”.
Benedict XVI’s body will be laid in state on Monday in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, where worshipers can pay a final tribute. The funeral ceremony will follow on the morning of January 5. Pope Francis will continue during the funeral ceremony, which will take place in the great St. Peter’s Square in front of the basilica.
