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Benedict XVI Aide Denies Rift with Francis

By Ines San Martin
The Crux
January 22, 2015

http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/01/22/benedict-xvi-aide-denies-rift-with-francis/

Archbishop Georg Ganswein says retired pope is not working behind-the-scenes with conservatives

Georg Ganswein with former Pope Benedict XVI during a meeting in Zagreb in 2011. (Photo/Allesandro Bianchi, Reuters)

A close aide to emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has denied the former pontiff is playing any behind-the-scenes role over the issue of Communion for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics, calling such reports a “pure invention.”

The aide also dismissed suggestions that Benedict is a sort of “anti-pope” for conservatives upset with Francis, calling it “stupid and irresponsible,” and labeling such rumors a form of “theological arson.”

Archbishop Georg Ganswein, prefect of the papal household and personal secretary of emeritus pope Benedict XVI, made the comments in an interview with the German magazine Christ und Welt.

During the Synod of Bishops on the Family last October, there were persistent rumors that a delegation of more conservative cardinals who were worried about a possible change for the divorced and remarried sought out Benedict’s counsel.

Ganswein said that meeting never happened.

“A supposed intervention by the Pope emeritus [during the Synod of Bishops] is pure invention,” said Ganswein, who served as priest-secretary for the then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and then became his closest aide as pope.

Ganswein insisted there’s no doctrinal gap between Benedict and Francis on the divorce and remarriage issue.

“I know of no doctrinal statements from Pope Francis which are contrary to the statements of his predecessor,” Ganswein said.

“It’s one thing to emphasize the pastoral efforts more clearly because the situation requires it,” he said. “It’s something else entirely to make a change in teaching.”

The interview with the German magazine was translated into English by the Catholic Netherlands blog “In Caelo et in Terra” (On Heaven and Earth) and published on Wednesday.

In it, Ganswein said that that doctrine and pastoral care are not in opposition, but rather, are twins.

“The pope is the first guarantor and keeper of the doctrine of the Church and, at the same time, the first shepherd, the first pastor,” he said.

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One year ago, Ganswein made comments seen as a bit critical of Pope Francis, saying that Francis was a “media darling” but not everyone’s “darling.” On this occasion, however, Ganswein praised Francis’ important documents and speeches, such as Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), for providing a compass for his papacy.

“Contours have become clearly visible and clear priorities were set,” Ganswein said.

According to Ganswein, the main priority for Francis is mission, meaning efforts to spread the faith.

A supposed intervention by the Pope emeritus [during the Synod of Bishops] is pure invention."

— Archbishop Georg Ganswein, prefect of the papal household and personal secretary of emeritus pope Benedict XVI

“No internal navel-gazing, no self-reference, but sharing the Gospel with the world,” he said. “That is the motto.”

However, Ganswein wasn’t particularly pleased with the pontiff’s speech to Vatican officials Dec. 22 in which the pope ticked off a list of 15 “spiritual diseases” to which the pontiff believes the Roman Curia is susceptible, including the “terrorism of gossip” and “spiritual Alzheimer’s.”

“It was a treat for the media,” Ganswein said. “During the talk I could already see the headlines: ‘Pope castigates Curia prelates’; ‘Pope reads his coworkers the law’!”

“Sadly, outwardly it gave the impression that there was a rift between the Pope and the Curia,” he said. “That impression is deceiving, and does not coincide with reality. But the address drowned that out.”

Ganswein praised Francis’ generally deft handling of the media, but also expressed regret over a few specific cases in which Vatican spokesmen have had to issue clarifications about things the pope has said or done.

On the emeritus pope’s decision to resign, Ganswein said that Benedict is “at peace with himself and convinced that the decision was right and necessary.”

 

 

 

 

 




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