FIRENZE-NUOVA ROMA 31 December 2022 (NRom)
His Holiness the Papa-Prince of Rome-Ruthenia issued the following statement on the death of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.
Benedict was not only the last Bishop of Rome to date to
seek actively to restore the traditions of the Latin Church and of his office,
but also was a devoted supporter of the Apostolic See of Sts. Stephen and Mark.
He and his curia acting in his name acknowledged and endorsed our Orthodox and
Old Catholic See and its legitimate autocephaly (independence of government from
the See of Rome and other Sees) and our Patriarchal office, as well as our ecclesiastical
monarchy, family dynasty, and their titular patrimony. It was he whom we
succeeded as temporal successor of St. Peter the Apostle, and thus it is in
part his legacy that we devoutly perpetuate in that office.
Benedict XVI was a Pope-Bishop of Rome who sought to
do his duty as a guardian of the faith and tradition. In that regard, he is an example to all -- particularly to those in church leadership. We institute a period of
mourning, therefore, in the Imperial Roman Church and the
Pontifical Imperial State of Rome-Ruthenia of thirty days.
