© Reuters. Candles stand subsequent to St. Peter’s Sq. after former Pope Benedict died within the Vatican, in Rome, Italy, December 31, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
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By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis marked the Roman Catholic Church’s conventional World Day of Peace on Sunday however the begin of the brand new yr on the Vatican was overshadowed by the dying of his predecessor, Benedict.
Francis presided at a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica because the physique of Benedict, who died on Saturday on the age of 95, was being ready for 3 day of public viewing in the identical church beginning Monday.
In accordance with Benedict’s needs, his funeral on Thursday will probably be easy, solemn and sober. Will probably be the primary time in lots of centuries {that a} sitting pope will preside on the funeral of his predecessor. Benedict, who stepped down in 2013, had been the primary pontiff in 600 years to resign.
Jan. 1 can also be the feast of the Mom of God and in his homily, Francis requested the Madonna to accompany “our beloved” Pope Emeritus Benedict “on his passage from this world to God”.
Benedict was additionally remembered in one of many prayers on the Mass.
Francis additionally appealed for peace, alluding to war-torn international locations, together with Ukraine, the place Russia continued intense assaults on New 12 months’s Day.
“Allow us to pray to our Mom in a particular manner for her little children who’re struggling and now not have the power to wish, and for our many brothers and sisters all through the world who’re victims of warfare, passing these holidays in darkness and chilly, in poverty and concern, immersed in violence and indifference,” he mentioned.
Francis urged his listeners to work actively for peace, and never “waste time glued to a keyboard in entrance of a pc display” however to “soiled our arms and to do some good”.
PRAISE, BUT ALSO CRITICISM FOR BENEDICT
On Saturday evening the Vatican launched Benedict’s two-page “religious testimony” written in 2006, a yr after his election as pope. There was no reason Benedict didn’t replace it as he turned older and extra frail.
In it, he requested in a common, religious manner, that God would welcome him to inside life “regardless of all my sins and insufficiencies”.
Francis on Saturday known as Benedict a noble, sort man who was a present to the Church and the world.
Whereas tributes to the previous pope continued to be made by world leaders, and conservative members of the devoted, others had been extremely crucial of his preach.
Some recalled the extreme self-discipline he meted out to progressive theologians, notably in Latin America, when he was head of the Vatican’s doctrinal division underneath Pope John Paul II. These actions prompted liberal Catholics to dub then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger “God’s Rottweiler”.
And whereas some have credited Benedict with taking essential steps to formalise the Vatican’s response to clergy sexual abuse, victims teams accused him of defending the establishment in any respect prices.
“In our view, the dying of Pope Benedict XVI is a reminder that, very similar to John Paul II, Benedict was extra involved in regards to the Church’s deteriorating picture and monetary stream to the hierarchy versus greedy the idea of true apologies adopted by true amends to victims of abuse,” the anti-abuse group SNAP mentioned.
Like many Vatican officers who labored with Benedict, Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet mentioned he believed the German pontiff had left behind “an incredible legacy” as a person of God and a person of tradition.
“I imagine that is additionally a process for the longer term, to deeply rethink the Christian religion within the face of the challenges of our time,” Ouellet advised Reuters Tv.
