The Bishop of Meath, Tom Deenihan, paid tribute to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI this week following his death on 31 December, aged 95.
Bishop Deenihan said that he was saddened to hear the news and described the former Pope as a theologian and teacher who was very respected across the Catholic Church.
“Sometimes theology can be dusty or inaccessible, but the man had a very deep faith and an ability to communicate profound truths in a very simple way,” he said. “He was a prolific writer before he was a Pope and has volumes upon volumes of work. He was renowned as a professor of theology before he ever came to Rome through his work at various German universities.”
The Bishop continued that Benedict entered the role of Pope at a “challenging time, when the child abuse scandal was breaking”.
