Bukoba — AUXILIARY Bishop Methodius Kilaini, the Apostolic Administrator for Bukoba Catholic Diocese has urged Tanzanians to maintain the existing peace and unity at all costs and should not allow religion to divide them.
Equally, he urged them to pray for political leaders including President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan and her subordinates at various levels.
He made the appeal on Wednesday afternoon during a Requiem Mass held at the Mater Misericordiae Cathedral in Bukoba Municipality, for the late Pope Benedict XV1.
"As we mourn the passing of our beloved Pope Benedict XV1, we should join hands in thanking God for the existing peace and unity among all Tanzanians. These efforts must be maintained at all costs and we should not allow religious differences to divide us.
"Pope Emeritus Benedict XV1, the German theologian will forever be remembered as the first pontiff in 600 years to resign from the post," he said.
Benedict stunned the world on February 13th, 2013, when he announced that he no longer had the strength to run the 1.2 billion-strong Catholic Church believers that he had steered for eight years.
His dramatic decision paved the way for the conclave that elected Pope Francis as his successor. The two popes then lived side-by-side in the Vatican gardens. He died last Saturday at the age of 95 years.
Pope Francis yesterday celebrated Benedict's funeral Mass, the first time in the modern age that a current pope eulogized a retired one. He praised Benedict's kindness and thanked him for his testimony of faith and prayer.
