Pope Francis condoles the death of Margaret Thatcher

Vatican City, 09 April 2013: Pope Francis condoled the death former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Baroness Margaret Thatcher on Tuesday. On behalf of the Pontiff, Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone sent a telegram to Prime Minister David Cameron offering the Holy Father’s condolences at the death of Margaret Thatcher.

The telegram said Pope Francis appreciated the Christian values which underpinned her commitment to public service and to the promotion of freedom among the family of nations.
Entrusting her soul to the mercy of God, Pope Francis assured her family and the British people of his prayers, and invoked God’s abundant blessings upon all whose lives she touched.

Meanwhile,
the Catholic bishops of England and Wales offered prayers for the soul of Margaret Thatcher, who died at age 87 following a stroke. Baroness Thatcher, who led Britain from 1979 to 1990, died "peacefully" the morning of April 8, according to her family.

"It was with sadness that we heard the news of the death of Baroness Thatcher, who served this country for many years both as a member of Parliament and as prime minster. We pray for the repose of her soul and for the intentions of her family and all those who now mourn for her," said Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster, president of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, in a statement.

Baroness Thatcher, the daughter of a Methodist greengrocer, became the first woman ever to hold the office of British prime minister when her center-right Conservative Party swept to power at the end of a decade troubled by economic misery and public strikes.

On May 4, 1979, the day of her election, she read out the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi in her first address to the nation. From the steps of the prime minister's residence of 10 Downing Street, London, she said: "Where there is discord, may we bring harmony. Where there is error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. And where there is despair, may we bring hope pledging to bring harmony were there was discord."

While in office, Thatcher reduced the powers of the trades unions, lowered taxes and introduced monetary policies to lower inflation. But deindustrialization of the 1980s also saw rising unemployment and rioting in major British cities, leading to appeals from Catholic and Anglican bishops for Thatcher to take a more "compassionate" approach.

Source: VR Sedoc