Department for External Church Relations
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Condolences of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill over demise of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’ has sent a message to Pope Francis with condolences on the demise of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. The full text of the message is given below.
To: His Holiness Pope Francis
Your Holiness!
I was grieved to learn of the demise of your predecessor – Pope Benedict XVI.
The years-long life journey of His Holiness had been the whole epoch in the history of the Roman Catholic Church at the head of which he stood in the difficult period of many external and eternal challenges.
The incontestable authority of Benedict XVI as an outstanding theologian allowed him to bring a significant contribution to the development of inter-Christian cooperation, witness for Christ amidst the secularized world, and the defense of traditional moral values.
I met with the deceased Pope personally more than a few times during his tenure at the Roman See and I attest his deep love for Eastern Christianity and his sincere respect of the Russian Orthodox tradition in particular. During the pontificate of Benedict XVI relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church had been developing in the spirit of fraternal cooperation and pursuance of interaction for overcoming some cases of painful legacy of the past.
On behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church I express to you and the flock of the Roman Catholic Church condolences over your loss. May the All-Merciful Lord, in whose vineyard the late Pontiff called himself a humble laborer on the day of his election, make his memory eternal.
With deep condolences,
+KIRILL
Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’
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