In a letter of condolence to Pope Francis, the Chairman of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Prof. Dr. Norbert Lammert, paid tribute to his late predecessor Benedict XVI: "When he was elected Pope in 2005, Joseph Ratzinger was known in Germany as an outstanding professor of theology, a native Archbishop of Munich-Freising and for many years Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Accordingly, the news caused pride and great joy among many people in his homeland."

With increasing distance from the pontificate of Pope Benedict, the outstanding importance of the theologian Joseph Ratzinger is also becoming increasingly evident, said Lammert: "Beyond his perception in church politics as the Lord Privy Seal keeper of a Catholic doctrine of the faith, which increasingly became dogmatically truncated in the concern about the momentum of the departure of the Second Vatican Council and thus also lost acceptance among its own faithful followers, two events in particular remain vivid in my memory in Germany with lasting public impact: His great, brilliant dispute with Jürgen Habermas from 2004 at the Catholic Academy in Munich on faith and reason as defining characteristics of Western culture, and his memorable speech in the German Bundestag on 22nd September 2011 as part of his official visit to Germany. Both are documents of a rare combination of intellectual brilliance and personal humility as well as impressive testimonies to the responsibility of Christians in the modern world," the former President of the Bundestag emphasized in his letter.

He further stated: "Not only the universal Church, but also Germany is losing with Benedict XVI a great personality of our time. We will keep his historic legacy in dignified memory. For your continuation of the concerns of the late Pontifex Emeritus in your pontificate and the great tasks associated with it, I wish you strength and God's blessing."