As Part of a Multi-faith Ecumenical Body, Adventists in Germany Mourned the Passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

On January 5, 2023, Pope Francis presided over the funeral mass for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in St. Peter's Square. Political authorities, cardinals, bishops, priests, and representatives from different churches from all over the world gathered at the Vatican to bid Benedict XVI farewell. It is estimated that more than 120 cardinals, about 400 bishops, and almost 4,000 priests attended the funeral of the emeritus pope. More than 60,000 pilgrims have gathered since early in the morning.

The National Catholic Reporter indicated that there would be clergy from various churches present at the funeral: "Two dozen Christian churches and ecumenical organizations had announced they would have official representatives at the liturgy for the retired pope, who died Dec. 31 at the age of 95.

The Berlin-Brandenburg Ecumenical Council (ORBB) was one of the ecumenical bodies that publicly mourned the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Roman Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans, Mennonites, Lutherans, Methodists, Seventh-day Adventists, Nazarenes, and about 25 other religions make up this ecumenical group of member churches. The chairman of the ORBB is the Roman Catholic Monsignor Dr. Hansjörg Günther of the Archdiocese of Berlin, and the deputy chairman is the Seventh-day Adventist Pastor Dietmar Päschel. Adventist Pastor Dietmar Päschel is not only a member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Ecumenical Council (ORBB) administration; he also serves as the head of the Convention of Adventist Churches in Berlin and is the Chairman of the Ecumenical Working Group of Free Churches in Berlin-Brandenburg.

The Berlin-Brandenburg Ecumenical Council's administration issued the following statement on the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI: "On the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI - The ÖRBB churches mourn the loss of Pope Emeritus with the Roman Catholic Church. Benedict XVI, after a long life of great theological creativity, may God grant him the joy of eternal life … A final judgment of his pontificate will be left to future generations."

How could any Seventh-day Adventist publicly mourn the passing of a pope, praise him for his "great theological creativity," and ask God to grant him eternal life, when this same Pope pushed for papal supremacy, denied that Protestants were legitimate churches, blatantly promoted Sunday sacredness, and instructed his cardinal that they needed to be prepared to shed their blood in order to advance the Holy Roman Catholic faith? How could any true Protestant join Roman Catholics to mourn the loss of a Pope who zealously did all he could to revive the medieval traditions of the Roman Catholic Church? Pope Benedict didn't advocate for Vatican II; he tried to revive the Council of Trent. Have some Seventh-day Adventist leaders become so Roman Catholic that they would mourn the loss of a medieval, crusading, Catholic Pope?

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This release was published on openPR.