Archbishop Nichols on Pope's "courage, humility, integrity"

(Vatican Radio) The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales has paid tribute to Pope Benedict’s courage, humility and integrity in deciding to step down from the papacy at the end of this month. Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster says he’s asked Catholics and all people of faith in Britain to pray for the Pope and for the guidance of the Holy Spirit within the Holy See over the coming weeks.

Speaking to Philippa Hitchen, the president of the bishops conference of England and Wales also shared his favourite moments of this past papacy and spoke of the challenges ahead for the man who will take over from Benedict XVI

Listen:

“Well my first reaction was to seek clarification because it was startling and really quite surprising….but reflecting on it, you could see it was a very courageous decision which bears the characteristics of Pope Benedict XVI, courage, humility and great integrity……

I’ve asked people of all faiths to pray for Pope Benedict as he faces an exceptional course of action and secondly to pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit on all that has to take place within the Holy See now to ensure continuity on ministry in the See of Peter….

I think the Holy Father understood the needs of the church very clearly and I personally would go back to two of his recent statements, his address to the Curia in December and that to the diplomatic corps in January, in which he sketches quite clearly the challenges facing the Church. They don’t change, so I think he’s given, in those two speeches, a kind of sketch of what he sees as necessary for the next phase in the life of the church…

Clearly, most importantly for me was the visit of the Holy Father here in September 2010. I had the privilege of travelling with him in the pope mobile throughout his journeys across London and entering Westminster Hall when he received that quite astonishing and profoundly respectful acclamation from the leading people of Britain. I will never every forget those moments and I will never forget the grace and the clarity with which he spoke to the heart of British society, both acknowledging the achievements of Britain, but also challenging us to engage substantially in the dialogue between the world of religious faith and the world of secularism. That remains our challenge, but it was his astonishing witness and confidence in faith that the leaders of this country responded to so well… So his visit to Britain, his speech in Westminster Hall, his mass in Westminster Cathedral, the beatification of Cardinal Newman… they are the warmest memories that I will never ever relinquish of Pope Benedict XVI.”