 Mendes de Almeida served as a member of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and worked alongside its head Cardinal Văn Thuận with the prelate later expressing thanks for having had the "great grace to have met him".The archbishop offered his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI on the eve of turning 75 but the pope turned the offer down and asked that he continue in his position.He died from liver cancer following complications with Hepatitis C on 27 August 2006 at 6