Dear friends, supporters and members of the Caritas family,

Following the announcement of Pope Benedict’s resignation, Caritas Internationalis would like to thank him for his support over the past seven years.

The Holy Father has firmly placed charity at the heart of the Church. He has focused the world’s attention on the suffering of those in distress, such as the victims of the war in Syria or of food crises in Africa, and on the need for love and compassion as individuals, organisations and as the world as a whole.

The Pope has reminded us of the urgent need for social justice across the world and that “When we attend to the needs of those in want, we give them what is theirs, not ours.”

Less than a year into his pontificate, Pope Benedict clearly outlined the essential role of loving others and helping the poor and vulnerable in the encyclical “Deus Caritas Est”. Four years later he gave us “Caritas in Veritate”, which emphasised the need to make the global economy a more ethical system.

Pope Benedict described Caritas as “the heart of the Church” recently. This beating heart of charity in the form of love towards those less fortunate than ourselves will continue and grow stronger.

In his Lenten message for 2013, the Holy Father said, “The Christian life consists in continuously scaling the mountain to meet God and then coming back down, bearing the love and strength drawn from him, so as to serve our brothers and sisters with God’s own love.”

We offer our prayers and support to Pope Benedict and also to the universal Church at this time of change and we hope that wherever he is on the mountain, Pope Benedict feels the love and strength that we offer him at this time.

Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, S.D.B, President of Caritas InternationalisMichel Roy, Secretary General