By Christoph Sator, dpa I Tuesday, April 02, 2024
ROME – Pope Francis has accused the German prelate Georg Gänswein, the long-time confidant of the late pope Benedict XVI, of a “lack of humanity” and having “used” the former pontiff.
Pope Francis, 87, has levelled the accusations in a new book of interviews which will be published in Spanish on Wednesday.
In the interviews, Pope Francis takes issue with Gänswein’s decision to publish a book immediately after Benedict’s death on New Year’s Eve 2022.
In the interview book “El Sucesor” (“The Successor”) by Spanish Vatican correspondent Javier Martínez-Brocal, the pope also accused Gänswein of spreading untruths.
“This is very sad,” Pope Francis is quoted as saying in the book. “But it hurt me that Benedict was used. The book was published on the day of the funeral, which I felt was a lack of nobility and humanity.”
Last year, Francis transferred Gänswein back to Germany after many years in Rome – but did not assign Gänswein, 67, a new role, leading to speculation about disagreements between the men.
Gänswein’s book, titled “Nothing but the Truth,” was briefly a best-seller in Germany but also attracted criticism from others as well. German Cardinal Walter Kasper responded to its publication by saying: “It would have been better to remain silent.”
The relationship between the current pope and Gänswein has been strained for many years.
Gänswein served as private secretary to pope Benedict XVI, born Joseph Ratzinger, who was elected as pope in 2005 but resigned as leader of the Catholic Church in 2013. He held the title of “pope emeritus” until his death.
In the new interview book, Francis also discusses details of the papal conclave from 2005 at which Ratzinger was elected as pope Benedict XVI. Francis, then known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, participated in the conclave.
According to the report, some other cardinals at the time planned to block Ratzinger’s election by positioning Bergoglio – then the archbishop of Buenos Aires – against him.
Bergoglio reportedly received 40 out of 115 votes in the conclave at the time but removed himself from consideration in order to make way for Ratzinger.
