Thousands of Catholics paid their respects on Monday to former pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican, at the start of three days of lying-in-state at St Peter’s Basilica before his funeral. They began queueing before dawn to view the German theologian’s body, which was transferred early Monday from the monastery in the Vatican grounds where he died Saturday aged 95. “I arrived at 6:00 am, it seemed normal to come and pay homage to him after all he did for the church,” said an Italian nun, sister Anna-Maria, near the front of the queue that snaked around the edge of the vast St Peter’s Square. Bened…