Religious and political leaders from around the world have paid tribute to Pope Benedict following his death on Saturday in Rome.
Archbishop Eamon Martin, the Primate of All Ireland, said he was “saddened” to hear the news.
“At this time of mourning in the Catholic Church throughout the world, we remember his gentle soul in prayer, asking God, in His great mercy, to forgive his sins and human failings, while rewarding his generous service and complete dedication to the Gospel and to the Church.
“On behalf of the Irish Bishops’ Conference, and the faithful across Ireland, I extend sympathy to Pope Francis, to the family members and carers of the Pope Emeritus, and to all those in his native Germany and around the globe who loved him and will mourn his loss,” the archbishop said.
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He said that during his pontificate, Pope Benedict had “witnessed powerfully to faith, hope and love – the three theological virtues – about which he wrote profoundly in his encyclical letters: God is Love (Deus caritas est); Saved by Hope (Spe salvi); and, The Light of Faith (Lumen fidei) – which was completed by his successor Pope Francis”.
“On a personal level, it was his characteristic humility and gentleness which struck me when I first met him in 2009 while visiting the Vatican as Executive Secretary to the Irish Bishops’ Conference. I found him to be calm and softly spoken, kindly and personable, and genuinely interested in the Church in Ireland,” the archbishop said.
“Having met the Irish bishops in Rome in February 2010, he issued a unique Pastoral Letter to the Catholics of Ireland expressing profound sorrow for those grievously wounded by abuse in the Church. The then pope called for urgent action to address the legacy of abuse which, he said, has had ‘such tragic consequences in the lives of victims and their families’, and which had ‘obscured the light of the Gospel to a degree that not even centuries of persecution succeeded in doing’.”
Archbishop Martin said Benedict’s interest in Ireland dated back to his friendship with the late Archbishop Kevin McNamara of Dublin when both were young theology professors.
“Former students of the Pontifical Irish College, Rome, also remember fondly his visit there as cardinal,” he said. “He often admired the huge contribution of generations of Irish men and women to the Church, and to humanity, and he took a special interest in the work of early Celtic missionaries like St Columbanus to the spread the Gospel in Europe and to Europe’s spiritual identity.”
He said Benedict had followed “closely, and prayerfully” the peace process as it matured. “Although unable to travel to Ireland for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in 2012, he delivered the key televised address to participating pilgrims. His message then, about the Church as communion, recalled his remarkable 2007 Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis in which he speaks of the Holy Eucharist as a mystery to be simultaneously believed, celebrated and lived.”
He described Benedict as “a person of deep spirituality and prayer, an outstanding apostle of Christ”. He said he was “an outstanding teacher and academic whose impressive intellectual ability, combined with clarity of expression, made of him one of the greatest theologians of our era”.
“For all his intellectual abilities, he always ensured that the faith was not reduced to academic hair splitting; religion, he emphasised, is not a lofty concept or an ethical ideal; it is rather, an encounter with a person, Jesus Christ,” he said.
The Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference said it was providing books of condolences on its Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts where people can express sympathy on Pope Benedict’s death.
President Michael D Higgins said Benedict will be remembered for his contribution to peace.
“At this time of the return of war on our Continent and in so many areas of the world, he will be remembered for his untiring efforts to find a common path in promoting peace and goodwill throughout the world, including a steadfast interest in peace in Northern Ireland,” Mr Higgins said.
“He will be remembered too for the value he attached to intellectual work and for the personal commitment he gave to such within the Roman Catholic Church, this work being respected by both supporters and critics.
“Of particular importance was that during his tenure, Pope Benedict 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 President said.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he was saddened to learn of the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
“Leading the Catholic Church for almost a decade, the son of a police officer and a cook, the first German elected as Pope in one thousand years, he was ultimately a ‘humble worker in vineyard of the Lord’,” Mr Varadkar said.
“Today my thoughts are with Archbishop Eamon Martin and with all those in Ireland who will find the news of his passing as both saddening but also difficult.”
Micheál Martin, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, said Benedict “will hold a special place in the collective memory of Catholics the world over, as the first pope in almost 600 years to retire”.
“He showed great strength of character and humility in leaving the papacy at a time when by his own analysis, his declining health meant he could not provide the leadership he felt the Church required at the time,” Mr Martin said.
“He will be remembered for his commitment to global peace including in Northern Ireland and particularly for those of the Catholic faith as a respected theologian and scholar. I extend my condolences to Pope Francis, to Archbishop Eamon Martin the Catholic Primate of All Ireland, to the family and friends of Pope Emeritus Benedict, and to all those of the Catholic faith in Ireland and around the world.”
Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell said the church would “mourn the loss of a person who gave hope and direction to the Church, in particularly difficult times”.
“The prowess and clarity of his theological thinking, his power of judgement, and his personal interaction with many people set Pope Benedict apart,” Archbishop Farrell said. “Many of his writings are characterised by a depth of content and the simplicity of language which only comes from a profound appreciation of the mysteries of the faith. As he himself said in his classic work, Introduction to Christianity, ‘I come from theology and I knew that my strength, if I have one, is to announce the faith in a positive form. That is why I wanted above all to teach from the fullness of Sacred Scripture and Tradition’, and still, ‘there is a need for renewal, and I have tried to guide the Church forward on the basis of a modern interpretation of the faith’.”
The Church of Ireland’s archbishops – Archbishop John McDowell, the Primate of All Ireland, and Archbishop Michael Jackson – also paid tribute to Pope Benedict on Saturday.
“During his visit to the United Kingdom in 2010, Pope Benedict used the occasion of his meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, to focus on the subject of ecumenism in the context of both greater secularism in wider society and the increasingly multi-faith pattern of belief,” Archbishop McDowell said.
“For those of us who were present on that occasion in Westminster Abbey, we were fortunate indeed to listen to two European intellectuals and people of deep faith in conversation about the future of European Christianity. It was an unforgettable and encouraging experience.
“On that occasion, His Holiness Pope Benedict also reflected on the work of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission saying: ‘Let us entrust the fruits of that work to the Lord of the harvest, confident that he will bless our friendship with further significant growth.’
‘We owe a common debt to him, not least as a Biblical scholar and the unique richness of his exploration of the person of Jesus.”
Archbishop McDowell said Pope Benedict was “manifestly a man of deep spiritual insight combined with a capacity for focused and articulate theological expression”.
“During his life, he combined the role of churchman and theologian with energy, leaving as a legacy a substantive body of published work that stands testament to a Christian scholar of great intelligence and learning.
Archbishop Jackson said Benedict “contributed to the life and understanding of the Christian Church in a very wide range of ways”.
“His gift of scholarship was one which he shared throughout his pontificate and after his retirement. Clarity of writing was a special charisma and he opened up for a new generation the person of Jesus Christ.”
The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Right Reverend Dr John Kirkpatrick, said “many people across the island of Ireland today will be greatly saddened by the news of the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict”.
“In making contact with Archbishop Eamon I wanted to pass on my sympathy and express the condolences of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland as we acknowledge the grief being felt by so many of our Roman Catholic neighbours at this particular time,” he said.
World leaders also paid tribute to Pope Benedict. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted: “I am saddened to learn of the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
“He was a great theologian whose UK visit in 2010 was a historic moment for both Catholics and non-Catholics throughout our country.
“My thoughts are with Catholic people in the UK and around the world today.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described Benedict as a “special church leader”.
“As a ‘German’ pope, Benedict XVI was a special church leader for many, not only this country,” Mr Scholz wrote on Twitter.
“The world has lost a formative figure of the Catholic Church, an argumentative personality and a clever theologian.”
German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier described Benedict as someone who “has made dialogue between faith and reason his life’s work”.
French president Emmanuel Macron praised the Benedict for his work towards a “more brotherly world”.
“My thoughts are with the Catholics of France and the world, bereaved by the departure of his holiness Benedict XVI, who strove with soul and intelligence for a more brotherly world,” he wrote on Twitter.
Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni hailed Benedict XVI as a “giant of faith and reason”.
She said she had told Pope Francis that she and her government shared his pain at the passing of “a Christian, a pastor, a theologian, a great figure in history, that history will never forget”.