Pope calls late Cardinal Navarette “Teacher of Righteousness”

(November 24, 2010) “A teacher of Righteousness” is how Pope Benedict XVI described Jesuit Cardinal Urbano Navarette Cortés, when he participated at the prelate’s funeral Mass in Rome’s St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday, soon after the weekly general audience. The funeral Mass was celebrated earlier the same morning by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals. The Spanish Cardinal passed away on Monday at the age of 90. In his talk at the end of the funeral Mass, the Pope said “I remember the late Cardinal as a “Teacher of Righteousness.” His passionate teaching of Canon Law was a central element of his life and so was his education of the younger generation to true justice - that of Christ and of the Gospel. The Pope said the Cardinal contributed significantly to important Church events such as the Ecclesial Diocesan Synod of Rome, Vatican Council II and the revision of the Code of Canon Law. He was an expert in matrimonial law, and cooperated with various departments of the Roman Curia. That is the ministry Cardinal Navarette carried out throughout his life, said the Pope. Recalling the Cardinals’ words on priestly and religious vocations - “I never doubted my choice, even in the most difficult and challenging moments”, the Pope said this statement, sums up the generous fidelity of the Cardinal to God’s call, may he rest in peace in the Lord at the end of a busy life.