Pope pays tribute to late Belgian cardinal

VATICAN CITY, Jan 14 (AFP) - Pope John Paul II paid tribute Friday to deceased Belgian cardinal Jan Pieter Schotte as a "man of peace" at his requiem mass in St Peter's basilica.
The pope told priests and cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church administration, the Roman Curia, that Schotte "valued peace as one of the central elements of his long and intense service to the universal Church and in particular to the Holy See."
According to Holy See tradition, Schotte's coffin was placed on the ground in front of the altar, with a copy of the gospels placed upon it.
Schotte, secretary general of the synod of bishops, died Monday in a Rome hospital aged 76.
The 84-year-old head of the Roman Catholic Church personally performed the last blessing on the coffin of his close confidant, who was to be interred later Friday at Rome's Verano cemetery.
During the mass, the pope led the congregation in prayers for the victims of the Asian tsunami disaster.

01/14/2005 14:53 GMT - AFP