Years of tension between Pope Francis and his Benedict were revealed in explosive memoirs

The closest associate of the late Pope Benedict XVI. has revealed the years of tension between the German theologian and his successor, Pope Francis, in an explosive essay.

Georg Gänswein, Benedict’s personal secretary, who was seen kissing his wooden coffin in St. Peter’s Square last week, has embarrassed the Vatican with a series of revelations about the private talks between the two popes.

The German prelate, 66, revealed that Benedict said Francis “don’t trust me anymore” and claimed the couple clashed over mass traditions and the modernization of the Church.

The closest associate of the late Pope Benedict XVI. has exposed years of tension between the German theologian and his successor, Pope Francis

Adding to the ongoing war in the Vatican, it has emerged that the late Cardinal George Pell had warned Francis it was going to be a “disaster” and a “catastrophe.”

The Pope will finally bid the controversial Australian farewell on Saturday.

In Gaenswein’s book Nothing but the Truth: My Life Next to Benedict XVI. He said that “Benedict’s heart ached” when Francis effectively reversed his predecessor’s decision to relax restrictions on the use of the traditional Latin Mass.

In 2021, Pope Francis reinstated the restrictions on celebrations that Benedict had eased in 2007.

Benedict’s judgment had permitted celebrations of the Old Rite in traditional Latin, with priests often saying Mass while facing east with their backs to the people.

But when Franz tipped it over, it was a “crucial turning point” for Benedikt, Gänswein said.

The book also describes Benedict’s perplexity over some of Francis’ decisions and the latter’s apparent attempts to keep his predecessor in check.

After becoming the first pope in six centuries to resign in 2013, Benedict vowed to live “hidden from the world” but broke that promise to speak out on several explosive issues.

Georg Gänswein, above, was Benedikt’s personal secretary, who was seen kissing his wooden coffin in St. Peter’s Square last week

Francis summoned Gaenswein to a private meeting at the Vatican on Monday to ease tensions (pictured together in 2018).

The last straw appears to have been a book Benedict co-authored in 2020 on priestly celibacy – a PR disaster Gaenswein said Francis blamed in part on him.

Gänswein was de facto dismissed as head of the papal household with immediate effect.

“Stay at home from now on. Accompany Benedict who needs you and act as a shield,” he said, Francis told him.

Gaenswein, who was in the spotlight when Benedikt was elected, says he was “shocked and speechless” by his demotion.

Upon hearing the news, Benedict said, “It seems that Pope Francis no longer trusts me and is making you my guardian.”

The ex-pope intervened and tried to get Francis to change his mind, but to no avail, Gaenswein wrote.

The German prelate, 66, revealed that Benedict said Francis “don’t trust me anymore” and claimed the couple had fallen out (pictured at the Vatican on Tuesday).

The book also includes a previously unpublished letter from Benedict to Francis from 2013.

In the letter, Benedict insists on two aspects for his successor’s future – that there is a need to fight against the “concrete and practical denial of the living God” through abortion and euthanasia, and against gender ideology, which he calls “manipulation ” Are defined. .

Until his death on December 31 at the age of 95, Benedict had remained a figurehead of the conservative wing of the Catholic Church, which Pope Francis believes is too liberal.

As his secretary since 2003, Gänswein was constantly at Benedict’s side and his gatekeeper during his last years in a monastery on the Vatican grounds.

After Benedict’s death, Gaenswein led the mourners, welcomed visitors to his mentor’s funeral, and kissed the coffin in front of tens of thousands in St. Peter’s Square during the funeral presided over by Pope Francis.

Like Benedict, Gänswein was born in Bavaria. He describes his young self as “a bit transgressive,” with unruly curls and listening to Pink Floyd.

Gaenswein was a constant presence at Benedict’s side and his gatekeeper during his final years in a monastery on the Vatican grounds (pictured together in 2011)

The son of a blacksmith was ordained in 1984 and rose to become secretary to the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

When Ratzinger was elected Pope in 2005, the international media was immediately smitten with his dashing, blond assistant.

He earned the nickname “Bel Giorgio” (“Beautiful George”), and gossip magazines began gleefully splashing paparazzi photos of him in his tennis whites.

His close relationship with Benedict sparked jealousy, he said in the memoirs.

But the new pope Francis doesn’t seem to have him around, Gänswein said, citing the pope’s refusal to allow him to live in the palace apartment Benedict had used.

The memoir isn’t expected to improve relations between the two, and it wasn’t clear what job Gaenswein will get now.

Some Vatican commentators have speculated that he could be appointed ambassador to the Vatican or director of an important sanctuary.

Cardinal George Pell has died in Rome at the age of 81 following hip surgery, the Vatican has confirmed

Meanwhile, revelations are emerging about Cardinal George Pell’s concerns over what he saw as a “catastrophe” and “disaster” for the papacy under Francis.

Mr Pell, who was Francis’ first finance minister for three years before returning to Australia to face child molestation charges, died on Tuesday in a Rome hospital of heart complications following hip surgery. He was 81.

He had split his time between Rome and Sydney after being exonerated of allegations of molesting two choirboys when he was Archbishop of Melbourne in 2020.

Australia’s High Court overturned a previous conviction and he was released after 404 days of solitary confinement.

During his 2014-17 tenure as prefect of the Holy See’s Secretariat for Economic Affairs, which Francis created to deal with the Vatican’s opaque finances, Mr. Pell repeatedly clashed with the Vatican’s Italian bureaucracy.

In his telegram of condolence, Francis credited him with laying the groundwork for reforms, which included introducing international standards for budgeting and accounting by Vatican offices.

But Mr. Pell, a staunch conservative, became increasingly disillusioned with the direction of the papacy from Francis, including his emphasis on the involvement and promotion of the laity about the future of the church.

He wrote a remarkable memorandum setting out his concerns and recommendations for the next pope in a future conclave that circulated last spring and was published under the pseudonym Demos on the Vatican blog Settimo Cielo.

Blogger Sandro Magister confirmed on Wednesday that Mr Pell was the author of the memo, which is an extraordinary indictment of the current pontificate of a one-time close associate of Francis.

Mr Pell remained a figurehead for Conservatives throughout his incarceration and after his exoneration.

Divided into two parts – The Vatican Today and The Next Conclave – the memo lists a number of items covering everything from Francis’ “weakened” preaching of the gospel to the Holy See’s precarious financial position and a “lack of respect for the law”. ‘ in the city-state, including in an ongoing financial corruption trial that Mr Pell campaigned for.

“Commentators from every school, albeit for different reasons … agree that in many respects this pontificate is a disaster; a disaster,” he wrote.

Also on Wednesday, conservative magazine The Spectator published an allegedly autographed article written by Mr Pell in the days before his death, which described the “poisonous nightmare” of Francis’ two-year survey of lay Catholics on issues including church doctrine on sexuality and The role of the woman.