Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, 94, said his resignation, which is 7 years old, “was a painful decision” but a good one, and reiterated, in the face of ongoing discussions about his role, that ” no two popes “.
“It was a difficult decision. But I made it in full consciousness and I think I did it right. Some of my friends, the ones who followed me the most, are still angry, they didn’t want to accept my choice.”, Has reiterated Benedict XVI in an interview published today by the Italian newspaper “Corriere della Sera” and made this Sunday, on the seventh anniversary of the departure of Joseph Ratzinger, the first resignation of a pontiff in the modern era.
The newspaper claims that the emeritus pope answers his questions with “a thread of voice”, that his words come out “with a dropper” and that sometimes his historical secretary, the German Monsignor George Gaenswein, helps to understand the that says.
On the reasons for his resignation, the German pope explained: “I think of the conspiracy theories that followed: some said it was the fault of the Vatileaks scandal, some of a gay lobby conspiracy. , some the case of the Lefebvre conservative theologian Richard Williamson. They don’t want to believe it was a conscious choice. But my conscience is fine. “
Benedict XVI announced his resignation from the pontificate on February 11, 2013 and became effective on the 28th of this month with the departure of the Vatican to the residence of Castelgandolfo, for, after the election of Jorge Bergoglio, return to the Vatican and reside in the monastery Mater Ecclesiae.
The emeritus pope showed curiosity in the interview for the election of technocrat Mario Draghi as Prime Minister of Italy and wished he “could resolve the crisis.”
When asked about Francisco’s upcoming visit to Iraq, he stated, “I think it’s a very important trip, but unfortunately, it falls into a very difficult time that also makes it a dangerous trip: for security reasons. and then covid. And then there’s the unstable Iraqi situation. I’ll accompany Francisco with my prayer. “
On the new president of the United States, Catholic Joe Biden, he expressed that although “personally he is against abortion he must, as president, maintain continuity with the line of the Democratic Party.” And he added that “in gender politics we have not yet fully understood what its position is.”
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