Death of Benedict XVI: Macron, Meloni, Scholz … Leaders’ tributes to the former pope


Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died on Saturday at the age of 95 in the monastery in the Vatican gardens where he had retired. The German conservative theologian will go down in history as the first pope to have resigned since the Middle Ages, after eight years of a pontificate undermined by a deep crisis. Several country leaders paid tribute to him on Saturday morning.

Information to remember:

  • Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died on Saturday at the age of 95 in the monastery in the Vatican gardens where he had retired.
  • Pope Francis will preside over Benedict XVI’s funeral on Thursday, January 5 in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican at 9:30 a.m. local time (0830 GMT).
  • Benedict XVI’s body will be on display at St. Peter’s Basilica from Monday.

Macron salutes the efforts of Benedict XVI “for a more fraternal world”

The French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Benedict XVI by saluting the efforts of the former pope, who died on Saturday, in favor of a “more fraternal world”. “My thoughts are with Catholics in France and around the world, bereaved by the departure of His Holiness Benedict XVI, who worked with soul and intelligence for a more fraternal world,” tweeted the head of state.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI – born Joseph Ratzinger – whose resignation in 2013 took the whole world by surprise, died on Saturday at the age of 95 in the monastery in the Vatican gardens where he had retired. Emmanuel Macron, who like his predecessors maintains a regular dialogue with the main religions established in France, was received on October 25 at the Vatican by Pope Francis, for the third time since he entered the Élysée. in 2017. Much of the interview focused on the war in Ukraine. He had also discussed the end of life with the successor of Benedict XVI, fiercely opposed to euthanasia.

Giorgia Meloni salutes “a giant of Faith and Reason”

Former Pope Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday, was “a giant of Faith and Reason”, as well as “a great historical figure that history will not forget”, reacted the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. “I expressed to the Holy Father Francis my participation and that of the government in his pain and that of the entire ecclesial community,” she added in a press release.

Rishi Sunak “saddened” by the death of the “great theologian” Benedict XVI

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Saturday he was “saddened” by the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, hailing the memory of a “great theologian”. “I am saddened to learn of the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. He was a great theologian whose visit to the UK in 2010 was a historic moment for Catholics and non-Catholics in our country,” tweeted the British leader, while the Anglican Church said it prays in memory of the former pope.

Benedict XVI, “one of the greatest theologians of his time”, salutes the spiritual leader of the Anglican Church

The Archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual leader of the Anglican Church, on Saturday hailed the memory of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as that of “one of the greatest theologians of his time”.

“Pope Benedict XVI was one of the greatest theologians of his time, attached to the faith of the Church and faithful to its defense. In all things, and especially in his writings and his preaching, he looked to Jesus Christ, the image of the invisible God. Christ was clearly the root of his thought and the foundation of his prayer,” said Justin Welby in a statement, welcoming the “courageous and humble” resignation of Benedict XVI who “recognized the human fragility that affects us all.”

World loses ‘significant figure’ in Catholic Church, says Scholz

The world is losing a “significant figure” in the Catholic Church after the death on Saturday at the age of 95 of former Pope Benedict XVI, estimated the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. “As a +German+ Pope, Benedict XVI was for many, and not just in this country, a special church leader,” Scholz said on his twitter account, also calling him a “combative personality” and a “intelligent theologian”.

The Polish president salutes the “close collaborator of Saint John Paul II”

Polish President Andrzej Duda hailed the memory of former Pope Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday, who was “a close collaborator of Saint John Paul II”. “The world has lost one of the greatest theologians of the 20th and 21st centuries, a close collaborator of Saint John Paul II”, his Polish predecessor in the Vatican, regretted on Twitter the head of state of this country traditionally attached to the Catholic faith.

Russian Patriarch Kirill hails defender of ‘traditional values’

Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill hailed the memory of former Pope Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday, celebrating an “eminent theologian” and defender of “traditional values”, a concept dear to President Vladimir Putin.

“The unquestionable authority of Benedict XVI as an eminent theologian has enabled him to make a significant contribution to the development of inter-Christian cooperation, to witnessing to Christ in the face of a secularized world and to the defense of traditional moral values,” indicated Patriarch Kirill in a statement.





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