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Statement on the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
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December 31, 2022As we mourn the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, let us offer prayers for the repose of his soul and thank the Lord for providing the Church with a dedicated and faithful shepherd after the Lord’s own heart.
Pope Benedict XVI was outstanding in his teaching, humility and self-sacrifice for the good of the Church and the salvation of souls. His first encyclical letter addressed the topic of God’s love and highlighted the central focus of being a Christian. He wrote:“God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 Jn 4:16). These words from the First Letter of John express with remarkable clarity the heart of the Christian faith: the Christian image of God and the resulting image of mankind and its destiny. In the same verse, Saint John also offers a kind of summary of the Christian life: “We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us”.
We have come to believe in God's love: in these words the Christian can express the fundamental decision of his life. Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction. Saint John's Gospel describes that event in these words: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should ... have eternal life” (3:16).
May all heed these words of Pope Benedict and open their hearts to encounter God and his love.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace.
Most Reverend John F. Doerfler
Bishop of Marquette