XVI. Pope Benedict’s aide acknowledges criticism of the memoir

ROME — XVI. Pope Benedict’s longtime secretary admitted Sunday that his tell-all memoir, published in the days after Benedict’s death, was criticized for casting Pope Francis in an unfavorable light, but insisted that some of the controversy was more about anti-Benedict prejudice. like anything else.

In his first public comments since Benedict’s death on Dec. 31, Archbishop Georg Gaenswein said he remained loyal to Francis and was still waiting for the pope to give him a new job.

Gaenswein’s future has been the subject of much speculation due to Benedek’s death and “There is nothing else but the truth: my life XVI. After the publication of the publication “Beside Pope Benedict”. In the memoir, Gaenswein outlined his nearly 30 years of work with Benedict, but settled old scores, revealed palace intrigue and detailed some of the bad blood that built up during the decade Benedict lived alongside Francis as a retired pope.

The purpose of the book, which was published during the emotional period surrounding Benedict’s funeral on January 5, is conservative criticism, which anticipated Francis and the progressive trend of people nostalgic for Benedict’s doctrinaire papacy.

Speaking to Sky TG24 on Sunday after celebrating Mass at a church near Rome, Gaenswein admitted his book had raised eyebrows both for its content and the timing of its publication.

“There is and will be criticism,” he said. “And I have to live with the criticism.”

He said he welcomes informed criticism.

“If the criticisms are not well-founded, but stem from (anti-Benedict) prejudice or other baseless motives, I have to accept them, but I cannot take them seriously. I accept true criticism and learn from it,” he said.

He spoke to Sky at Santa Maria Consolatrice, which was Benedict’s titular church when Joseph Ratzinger was Cardinal. After the mass, the memorial plaque of the late pope was unveiled.

In an interview with the Associated Press on January 24, Ferenc responded to the criticisms of Gaenswein and other conservatives by saying that they are natural after 10 years and that they have proven that the superiors can speak freely.