ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE – Pope Francis mentioned Sunday that some sectors of the Catholic Church had “exploited” the dying of his predecessor Benedict XVI to criticize his personal papacy.
Benedict resigned as pontiff in 2013 however, up till his dying on December 31, he remained a figurehead for some conservative members of the church who oppose Pope Francis’ extra liberal outlook.
“Some stories going around, that Benedict was embittered by what the new pope did, are ‘a game of telephone’,” (misplaced in translation), Pope Francis informed reporters on his aircraft again from South Sudan.
“In fact, I consulted Benedict on some decisions to be taken. And he agreed, he agreed.
“I consider that Benedict’s dying has been exploited by individuals who wish to add grist to their mill.
“And those who exploit such a good person, such a man of God… well I would say they are unethical people, they are people belonging to a party, not to the Church.”
He didn’t title anybody, however Benedict’s closest aide, Georg Gaenswein, printed a e book after his dying and gave media interviews revealing tensions between the previous pontiff and Francis.
In explicit, Gaenswein described Benedict’s dismay on the determination by Francis to loosen up restrictions on using the standard Latin mass.
Francis mentioned he remained sanguine about his critics — “these things will fall on their own” — however mentioned he needed to emphasize that the ex-pontiff “was not embittered”. —Agence France-Presse
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
