In homage to the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, In the Metropolitan Cathedral of Medellín, a mass will be celebrated in thanksgiving for his life and work. The day and time have yet to be determined, according to the Archbishop of Medellín, Ricardo Tobón.
Preliminarily, Mass this Saturday at noon on the religious channel Televid will have the same purpose.
In dialogue with EL COLOMBIANO, Monsignor Tobón highlighted the value of the priestly life and the pontificate of the prelate died in the last few hours.
“I think that all the Church must give thanks to God for a great pope that he has given us and for an ecclesial work that he has been able to accomplish throughout his life,” said the hierarch.
For Monsignor Tobón, the service of Joseph Ratzinger -as was the first name of this pope who resigned his investiture in 2013- it has several facets.
“On the one hand, he was a great theologian with a copious work that is recounted in several books, In addition to serving as a professor at different universities; In addition, he collaborated as an expert in the Second Vatican Council. But we must also talk about his facet as pastor and prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and in this service that lasted for more than 20 years he was a close collaborator of Pope John Paul II”, he added.
Additionally, the Archbishop of Medellín mentioned in a special way what is related to the pontificate, in which there are also two moments: lThe eight years that he was at the head of the Catholic Church and his resignation to dedicate himself to praying.
“The resignation was an act within a wise, coherent and humble life; He was simply available for what God asked of him at all times. When he saw his strength dwindling and he understood that the Church needed another pontiff, he resigned and said ‘I have another field from which I can serve, and that is prayer,’” Monsignor Tobón highlighted.
In his concept, That fact shocked the world at the time.but at the same time it marks a milestone and a precedent that other popes are likely to follow in the future.
Was Benedict XVI misunderstood? According to Monsignor Tobón, perhaps he wasbut it is a condition of the pastors of the Church, since Jesus Christ.
“Benedict He always defined himself as a collaborator of the truth and wanted to give humanity elements of reflection and wisdom that open the horizon of the meaning of life and the teaching of the future. Sometimes it generated annoyance and also at times there were situations with which he had to fight,” said the top leader of the Church in the capital of Antioquia.
Until now it has not been confirmed if any delegation of the Colombian high clergy will travel to the funeral servicein Rome.