SW News: From all corners of the globe, heads of state, as well as Church leaders, are paying tribute to the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. French President Emmanuel said on Twitter on Saturday, December 31, “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.”

His British counterpart Rishi Sunak said he was saddened by the demise of the former Roman Pontiff, whom he described as a “great theologian”. “He was a great theologian whose UK visit in 2010 was a historic moment for both Catholics and non-Catholics throughout our country.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the late pontiff was a “giant of faith and reason”. She added that she had told Pope Francis that she and her government shared his pain at the demise of a “Christian, a pastor, a theologian, a great figure in history”.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who heads the episcopate of England and Wales, remembered the remarkable papal visit of Benedict XVI to Britain in 2010. “We saw his courtesy, his gentleness, the perceptiveness of his mind and the openness of his welcome to everybody that he met,” he said adding that “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.”

From the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Justin Welby hailed the late pope emeritus as “one of the greatest theologians of his age”. In a statement, the top Anglican prelate said Benedict XVI was “committed to the faith of the Church and stalwart in its defence”.

“In all things, not least in his writing and his preaching, he looked to Jesus Christ, the image of the invisible God. It was abundantly clear that Christ was the root of his thought and the basis of his prayer,” said the top British prelate.

In Australia, the head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB said Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI would be fondly remembered in Australia as the pope who led young people from around the world during the World Youth Day in Sydney in 2008.

“From his time as an expert adviser at the Second Vatican Council onwards, there was no question that Joseph Ratzinger was a major figure within the Church around the world," he said.

“His papacy will be remembered as one of rich teaching, including his encyclicals on love, hope and truth, as well as his book series Jesus of Nazareth, and for important reforms in areas like liturgy and in the handling of child sexual abuse.”

According to the Holy See, the mortal remains of the late Pope Emeritus would be kept for public viewing in St Peter’s Basilica on Monday for believers to pay their last respects.