‘Pope Francis doesn’t seem to trust me anymore’: Years of tension between the 86-year-old Pope and his predecessor Benedict are revealed in explosive memoirs of the late Pope’s closest aide

The close associate of the late Pope Benedict XVI. revealed the long-standing tension between the German theologian and his successor, Pope Francis, in explosive memoirs.

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

The German prelate, 66, revealed that Benedict had told Francis “no longer trusts me” and claimed the couple had clashed over mass traditions and the modernization of the Church.

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

In Gaenswein’s book, Nothing but the Truth: My Life Beside Benedict XVI, he said it “hurt Benedict’s heart” when Francis effectively reversed his predecessor’s decision to relax restrictions on the use of the traditional Latin Mass .

In 2021, Pope Francis re-introduced restrictions on mass that Benedict had eased in 2007.

Benedict’s ruling allowed the ancient rite to be celebrated in traditional Latin, with priests often saying Mass while facing east with their backs to the people.

But when Francis reversed it, it was a “decisive turning point” for Benedict, Gänswein said.

The book also describes Benedict’s confusion over some of Francis’ decisions and his apparent attempts to rein in his predecessor.

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 last week laid his wooden coffin on St. Peter’s Square kissed

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

The final straw appeared to be a book Benedict co-authored in 2020 on priestly celibacy — a public relations disaster that Francis appears to have partly blamed on him, Gaenswein said.

Gaenswein was immediately dismissed as head of the papal household.

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

Gänswein, who was thrust into the spotlight by Benedikt’s election, says he was “shocked and speechless” by his demotion.

When Benedict heard the news, he said, “It seems that Pope Francis has stopped trusting me and is making you my guardian.”

The ex-pope intervened and tried to persuade Francis, but to no avail, Gänswein wrote.

The German prelate, 66, revealed that Benedict said Francis “doesn’t trust me anymore” and claimed the couple had split (pictured in 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: that it is necessary to fight against the “concrete and practical denial of the living God” through abortion and euthanasia, and to deal with gender ideology, which he calls “manipulation”. . defined. .

The revelations prompted Francis to summon Gaenswein to a private meeting at the Vatican on Monday to smooth over their relationship.

But the day before, during his weekly Angelus address, Francis made comments that were seen as a thinly veiled attack on the prelate.

He said: “The big gossip is that the devil always says bad things about others because he is the liar who tries to divide the church, keep brothers and sisters in check and not create fellowship.”

Gaenswein has been a constant by Benedict’s side since he was appointed his secretary in 2003, with the German couple united by their traditional views on how the church should be run.

Benedict remained a figurehead of the conservative wing, which Pope Francis considered too liberal, until his death on December 31 at the age of 95.

In the last years of Benedict’s life in a monastery on the grounds of the Vatican, Gänswein was his porter.

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

Just like Benedict, Gänswein was born in Bavaria. He describes his young self as “pushing the boundaries a bit,” with unkempt curls and listening to Pink Floyd.

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

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

When Ratzinger was elected pope in 2005, the international media immediately loved his boisterous blonde assistant.

He was nicknamed “Bel Giorgio” (“Brilliant George”) and the tabloids gleefully began splashing paparazzi-like photos of him in his tennis whites.

His close relationship with Benedict led to jealousy, he said in the memoir.

But the new Pope Francis doesn’t seem to have him with him, Gänswein said, referring to the pope’s refusal to allow him to live in the palace apartment used by Benedict.

The memoir is not expected to improve the couple’s relationship, and it was not clear what work Gaenswein would get next.

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

Cardinal George Pell has died in Rome aged 81 following hip surgery, the Vatican has confirmed.

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

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

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

The Australian High Court overturned a previous court sentence and he was released after 404 days of solitary confinement.

Mr. Pell clashed repeatedly with the Vatican’s Italian bureaucracy during his 2014-2017 tenure as prefect of the Holy See’s Economic Secretariat, which Francis set up to handle the Vatican’s opaque finances.

In his condolence telegram, Francis credited him with laying the groundwork for the reforms, including the introduction of international budgeting and accounting standards for Vatican offices.

But Mr. Pell, a staunch conservative, became increasingly disillusioned with the papacy’s leadership, including its emphasis on the involvement and recruitment of lay people for the future of the church.

He wrote a remarkable memorandum outlining his concerns and recommendations for the next pope in a future conclave, which was circulated last spring and 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 once close associate of Francis.

Mr Pell remained a figurehead for conservatives throughout his incarceration and after his acquittal.

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 uncertainty of the Holy See’s finances and a “weakened” lack of respect for the law’. in the city-state, including in an ongoing financial corruption case involving mr. Pell defended.

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

Also on Wednesday, conservative magazine The Spectator published a self-signed article written by Mr Pell in the days before his death, describing the “toxic nightmare” of Francis’ two-year interrogation of lay Catholics on issues, including the church’s doctrine. about sexuality and the role of women.