Two of the most striking characteristics of His papacy that have come to the fore in public commentary were his commitment to improving the lives and conditions of the poorest of the world's poor and to building bridges between the major religions of the world. As Pontiff he focused very much too on the youth of the world and on the needs of the sick, the elderly and the disabled. While many of us in the human family may differ with his stance on some issues, none can question the compassion and humility of His ministry and the effect of that in promoting a more caring, more communal and more inclusive world. His examples of courage, fortitude, faith and self sacrifice are of great value to us all as we encounter the rapid changes of our contemporary life.
Who will ever forget the pioneering and courageous steps that He took when he acknowledged negligence in the face of the Jewish holocaust, when he apologised to the Muslim community for the crusades, when he opposed the war in Iraq, and when he embraced Africa in a most unique way.
These characteristics and tensions reflected much of our own National discourse and journey over the first ten years of our democracy and inform our ongoing work, especially in terms of poverty, unemployment, human dignity and reconciliation.
The Catholic Church played an invaluable role both before and after our 1994 elections and few of us will forget the significance of Pope John Paul II meeting both Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk in the early mid- nineties in support of their joint receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize and the democratisation of South Africa.
On behalf of our Provincial Government, my family and I, may I extend to to the Archdiocese of Cape Town, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Southern Africa and the Catholic and Christian communities at large our heartfelt sympathies at the loss of the man that you have called 'Holy Father' for so long, especially as you observe His Requiem Mass on Friday.
I assure you too of our prayers and thoughts as the Curia gather soon for the election of a successor to the throne of St Peter and for the new Pontiff as He will prepare for His new role.
Issued on behalf of Premier Ebrahim Rasool by Clayton Wakeford on [082 827 8792].
