Remembrances continue following the death on New Year’s Eve of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
Monsignor John McCaffrey of Bryan, who has served Brazos County for 42 years, says the Pope Emeritus was “highly, highly respected and always recognized.”
As for Benedict’s retirement in 2013, the first to do so in more than 600 years, McCaffrey said it “shows that the future Popes, if they get old and they get tired, they too can retire.”
After retirement, McCaffrey said Pope Francis consulted with the Pope Emeritus quite often, adding that Benedict XVI “wasn’t as visible (in retirement), but he did speak and he did have a part in the leadership of the church, for sure.”
McCaffrey also said the Pope Emeritus gave us an example of how active we can be in retirement, noting “just because you are retired that doesn’t mean you stop living. You continue, like his (the Pope Emeritus) spiritual life continues. And his influence in the church continued.”
According to Vatican News, Pope Francis will preside at Thursday’s Requiem Mass for Benedict XVI.
Click below for comments from Monsignor John McCaffrey, visiting with WTAW’s Bill Oliver.