Tabo McGoba, Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, described Pope Francis as “the last moral voice recognized worldwide in a confused era” and as the leader who “gived clear leadership in a complex and polarized political world.”
In a statement released after the death of the Pope today, Archbishop McGoba said, “The poor people of the world were the champion and administrator of their hopes and dreams, an incredible prophetic pastor who Quote one of his favourite proverbs.”
The Archbishop added: “We are deeply grateful to him in an incredible way that embraced the image of the church as a field hospital before us, and in an incredible way that embraced the marginalized priest, and identified with the “shepherd who lives with the smell of sheep.”
“A large family will miss him as a great man and a great church leader.”
The full statement of Archbishop McGoba is as follows:
“On behalf of the Church of England in South Africa and with all my heart, I thank God for Pope Francis in the life of him. For me, for many people around the world, his death feels almost like a personal loss.
“For many people around the world, including people of all faiths and people who are none other than him, the distinctive feature of his Holy See was how close they came to him.
“I always remember many special moments he spent with us as an Anglican bishop and a high priest. The final meeting with him was an inexplainable experience when he sat with us, who had been appointed to greet him and engage with him, insisting on getting out of the chair on the wheel and walking to us.
“The poor people of the world will become those who miss him most as the champion and custodian of their hopes and dreams. He was an incredibly prophetic pastor whose vision was “the church of the poor for the poor” to quote one of his favourite proverbs. “A shepherd who lives with the smell of sheep.”
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“He was a master of gestures. He supported everything. He led Catholics mostly around the world, but he also gave leadership to the entire Christian family. I remember him for his wise advice.
“The Greater Christian family misses him as a great man and a great church leader. In my last short conversation with him, I asked him to pray.
