Vatican City, Feb 12, 2004 / 22:00 pm
During the funeral Mass of Cardinal Opilio Rossi, Pope John Paul II recalled the years of World War II and said that the late Cardinal learned that hatred and exagerated nationalism only brings “tears and blood.”
Cardinal Rossi, a skilled Vatican diplomat who served under five pontificates died on Monday at age 93.
The Pope underscored that it was “faith which animated the long and fecund priestly ministry of Cardinal Opilio Rossi. How many times did he celebrate the divine Sacrifice, drawing from the Eucharist the light and inner strength needed for his daily choices and for his apostolate!”
Noting that his episcopal motto was “Omnia in Christo” (“All in Christ”), the Pope said: “We can say that, even within the limits of human fragility, this total tension towards Christ was behind the tireless service he gave to the Holy See in the pontifical representations in diverse countries in America and Europe, and again within the milieu of the Roman Curia.”