Vatican admits they met, but details are kept private
Benedict XVI’s longtime personal secretary… The Memoir of ‘The Two Popes’ Conflict
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(Vatican = Yonhap News) Correspondent Shin Chang-yong = Pope Francis met on the 9th (local time) with Archbishop Georg Genswein, 66, a longtime personal secretary to former Pope Benedict XVI.
The Vatican said that Archbishop Genswein had a personal audience with Pope Francis, but did not disclose details of the conversation between the two.
Archbishop Genswein, who served as personal secretary to former Pope Benedict XVI for nearly 20 years, has been at the center of controversy in recent days when the contents of his memoir, “Only the Truth – My Life with Benedict XVI” were released before publication.
In the 330-page memoir, Archbishop Genswein mentions that he was dismissed as head of the papal palace in 2020 due to a conflict between the current pope and the former pope.
At the time, it was a time when it was known that former Pope Benedict XVI was named as a co-author of ‘Deep in the Heart: Priests, celibacy and the crisis of Catholicism’ written by Cardinal Robert Sarah in January 2020.
In this book, former Pope Benedict XVI argued for adherence to the tradition of priestly celibacy.
This caused a great stir in the Catholic world as it was seen as a direct rebellion once morest Pope Francis, who had been actively expressing his stance on appointing married men as priests only in some regions where there is an absolute shortage of priests, such as the Amazon in South America.
Archbishop Genswein claimed that he was sacked from his position as head of the papal court overnight.
He wrote in his memoirs that he was shocked when Pope Francis ordered him “not to go to work tomorrow and to take care of the sick Benedict all day.”
For the first seven years of Pope Francis’ election, he held two positions: head of the papal court and personal secretary to former Pope Benedict XVI.
However, as the conflict between the ‘two popes’ surfaced, he became the scapegoat and was kicked out of the position of head of the papal palace.
The head of the papal palace is the position of overseeing the affairs of the papal palace and papal ceremonies. It is also the head of the Pope’s Palace who “shadows” the pope during general and special audiences.
Archbishop Genswein claimed that Pope Benedict XVI wrote two letters to Pope Francis asking for his reinstatement, but Pope Francis rejected them.
Archbishop Genswein served as personal secretary to former Pope Benedict XVI, also from Germany, since 2003, when he was a cardinal.
Even following Benedict XVI voluntarily resigned from the papacy in 2013, he remained by his side as personal secretary. When former Pope Benedict XVI died in a monastery in the Vatican on the 31st of last month, it was Archbishop Genswein who delivered his last words to the world.
Local media cited Archbishop Genswein as a representative figure, saying that conservative hardliners within the Catholic Church, who lost their mainstay due to the death of former Pope Benedict XVI, are putting pressure on the current Pope Francis to induce him to voluntarily resign.
As former Pope Benedict XVI passes away, an uncertain future awaits Archbishop Genswein.
Italian daily ‘La Repubblica’ reported that it is highly likely that Pope Francis discussed his future career at this meeting with Archbishop Genswein.
For now, it seems likely that Archbishop Genswein will take over as archbishop in his native Germany.
The media predicted that he might be appointed as an ambassador to the Vatican and sent abroad, or he might remain in Rome, Italy, to continue his studies.
changyong@yna.co.kr
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2023/01/10 00:15 Send
