Pope Francis mourned the death of German Cardinal Joachim Meisner, retired archbishop of Cologne, praising his "deep faith and sincere love for the Church."
The 83-year-old cardinal died unexpectedly in his sleep on July 5 while on vacation in southern Germany.
Cardinal Meisner was one of four cardinals who formally asked Pope Francis to clarify his teaching on Communion for the divorced and civilly remarried.
When the four prelates did not receive a response, they released the letter to the press saying, "We have noted a grave disorientation and great confusion of many faithful regarding extremely important matters for the life of the church," especially given the contrasting interpretations -- even among bishops -- of Chapter 8 of 'Amoris Laetitia,'" the chapter dealing with ministry to the divorced in his exhortation on the family.
