Since the Vatican announced the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at the age of 95 on Saturday, December 31, 2022, a deluge of tributes has poured in from both the religious and secular leaders around the world.
Benedict, (1927- 2022), whose name was Joseph Ratzinger, served at the Vatican between 2005 and 2013, before retiring due to ill health.
Benedict XVI, whose funeral holds on Thursday, January 5, 2023 at St Peter’s Square with Pope Francis presiding, was the first pope in 600 years to have retired voluntarily.
In Nigeria, Archbishop Emeritus, Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, extolled the virtues of late Pope saying he spent his entire years on Earth in serving God and his church.
“We thank God for his life; I know him personally, he was very kind to me, always fond of me, he made me and made me a cardinal.
“We don’t feel pity over his demise because he lived for God and his Church; so, I ‘m completely optimistic that he has just moved gently, gently into paradise.
“I know I have another saint now in heaven and I hope to join them whenever God calls me sooner or later; may his soul rest in perfect peace,” he said.
For his part, the Catholic Bishop of Oyo Diocese, Most Rev. Emmanuel Badejo, said the pope had returned to God.
“He was not shy to respect the reality of history when he courageously retired a few years ago, because as he said, his energy and mind could no longer carry that responsibility.
“He, however, remained at the device of his beloved Church till the end as he said, by his prayers and presence,” Badejo added.
In its tribute, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said the deceased was a great theologian whose life embodied the balance of faith, reason and works in ways that positively influenced both Catholics and non-Catholics throughout the world.
“It will be difficult to fill the shoes of untiring efforts to find a common path in promoting peace and goodwill throughout the world which Pope Benedict XVI left behind, but the Christian Association of Nigeria prays that God Almighty will continue to raise theologians like the late pontiff who are committed to the defence of the Christian faith,” CAN president, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, said in a statement.
In his tribute, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, said, the late pope provided a moral compass on how the world could organise itself.
“He slightly took a different perspective. His predecessor, Benedict 15, was pope during the time of war. So, he saw himself as someone who helped the Catholic Church provide a moral compass on how the world could organise itself, moving slightly away from an obsession with geopolitics that caused the world so much after 15 years of the cold war. If one looks at the first two major documents he put out, they helped to let the world understand that love has to be embedded in politics and almost every area of public life,” he said.
Elsewhere in the world, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, said his “thoughts go out to Catholics in France and around the world”. He added that Benedict had “worked with all his soul and intelligence for a more fraternal world.”
The president of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, said during his tenure Benedict had “sought to highlight both the common purpose of the world’s major religions and his injunctions as to how our individual responsibilities as citizens require the highest standards of ethics in our actions”.
The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said in his tribute that “the world has lost a formative figure of the Catholic church, an argumentative personality and a clever theologian.”
Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, paid tribute to an “outstanding theologian, intellectual and promoter of universal values”.
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, described Benedict as “principled in his faith, tireless in his pursuit of peace, and determined in his defence of human rights”.
“He was a spiritual guide to millions across the world and one of the leading academic theologians of our time,” he added. “His powerful calls for solidarity with marginalised people everywhere and his urgent appeals to close the widening gap between rich and poor are more relevant than ever.”
In the US, the White House released a statement from President Biden – who is only the second Catholic after John F Kennedy to hold the nation’s highest office.
Recalling spending time with Benedict at the Vatican in 2011, the president said that he would be remembered “as a renowned theologian, with a lifetime of devotion to the Church, guided by his principles and faith”.
In the UK, King Charles III said he received news of the former Pope’s death with “deep sadness”.
In a statement, King Charles recalled visiting him at the Vatican in 2009.
Sending a message of condolence to Pope Francis he highlighted Benedict’s “constant efforts to promote peace and goodwill to all people” and his actions to strengthen bonds between Catholics and Anglicans.
“Your Holiness, I received the news of the death of your predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, with deep sadness.
“I remember with fondness my meeting with His Holiness during my visit to the Vatican in 2009. His visit to the United Kingdom in 2010 was important in strengthening the relations between the Holy See and the United Kingdom.
“I also recall his constant efforts to promote peace and goodwill to all people, and to strengthen the relationship between the global Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church,” he added.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called Benedict XVI “a great theologian whose UK visit in 2010 was an historic moment for both Catholics and non-Catholics throughout our country.”
The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, said Benedict transformed his image in the UK when he visited.
He said Benedict arrived with a reputation of being “God’s Rottweiler”, but left being compared to “everybody’s favourite great-uncle or just uncle.”
He added that Benedict was “one of the great theologians of the 20th century”.
During his visit to the UK in 2010, Nichols said: “We saw his courtesy, his gentleness, the perceptiveness of his mind and the openness of his welcome to everybody that he met. He was through and through a gentleman, through and through a scholar, through and through a pastor, through and through a man of God – close to the Lord and always his humble servant.”
The Anglican archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, , described the late pope as “one of the greatest theologians of his age – committed to the faith of the Church and stalwart in its defence”.
Welby added: “In 2013, Pope Benedict took the courageous and humble step to resign the papacy, the first pope to do so since the 15th century. In making this choice freely he acknowledged the human frailty that affects us all.”
With The Punch, BBC News, The Guardian reports
