In a book-length interview, Pope Francis exposes political maneuvers during past papal elections, denying rumors of reforming future conclaves. He reveals confidential details about the 2005 and 2013 conclaves, settling scores with Pope Benedict XVI's aide, Archbishop Georg Gaenswein. Francis denies planning any conclave rule reforms but admits to revising the protocol for papal funerals. He blames Gaenswein for a 2020 incident involving a book co-authored by Cardinal Robert Sarah and Benedict, and insists that Benedict always supported him.
Pope Francis has fired Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, the longtime aide to the late Pope Benedict XVI, from his Vatican job and ordered him to return to his native Germany, following the archbishop's tell-all memoir that was highly critical of Francis. Gaenswein had officially ended his job as prefect of the papal household as of Feb. 28, and the pope had ordered him to return to Freiburg, Germany, his diocese of origin, by July 1. The Vatican's announcement betrayed some of the ill-will that had developed between Francis and Gaenswein.
Pope Francis has ordered Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, the private secretary and long-time aide of the late Pope Benedict, to return to his native Germany by the end of the month without any new assignment, the Vatican said on Thursday. Gaenswein, a powerful figure in the Vatican for more than a decade before Francis sidelined him after a personal falling out, is 66 and it is exceptionally unusual for someone of that relatively young age and rank not to have an assignment, giving the pope's decision a sense of banishment.
Pope Francis has ordered Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, the private secretary and long-time aide of the late Pope Benedict, to return to his native Germany by the end of the month without any new assignment, the Vatican said on Thursday. Gaenswein, a powerful figure in the Vatican for more than a decade before Francis sidelined him after a personal falling out, is 66 and it is exceptionally unusual for someone of that relatively young age and rank not to have an assignment, giving the pope's decision a sense of banishment.
Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, the longtime secretary to Pope Benedict XVI, acknowledged that his memoir, "Nothing But the Truth: My Life Beside Pope Benedict XVI," had been criticized for casting Pope Francis in an unfavorable light, but insisted that some of the polemics were more about anti-Benedict prejudice than anything else. Gaenswein said he remained loyal to Francis and that he was still waiting for the pontiff to give him a new job. The book came to encapsulate the conservative criticism that has been directed at Francis and his more progressive bent by people nostalgic for Benedict’s doctrinaire papacy.
