VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Former Pope Benedict has rebuked conservative Roman Catholics for not accepting his decision to resign as “fanatics”, telling them there is only one pope and that he is Francis.
Benedict, now 93, became the first pope in more than 600 years to resign in 2013 instead of ruling for life, saying he no longer had the strength to govern the 1.3 billion-member Church.
Some hardline conservatives who are dissatisfied with the more liberal Liberal pope have often expressed doubts about whether Benedict resigned voluntarily, although he has said several times in the last eight years that he did.
“It was a difficult decision. But it was a fully conscious decision and I think I did well (resign), “he told Italy’s Corriere della Sera in an interview published Monday.
“Some of my most fanatical friends are still upset. They haven’t accepted my choice.”
Benedict, who lives in a house in Vatican Gardens, said those who refused to accept his resignation were freed from “conspiracy theories” that he had been forced to leave because of scandals such as the leaking of some of his documents by his butler.
“They don’t want to believe it was a conscious decision,” he said. “My conscience is clear.”
Apparently, addressing those who still consider him the true pope and are hostile to Francis, Benedict said, “There is only one pope.”
The interviewer said Benet had underlined the point by banging on the arm of the chair.
The presence in the Vatican of both a pope and a former pontiff with the title of “pope emeritus,” also dressed in white, has irritated some Catholics.
The main figures in the Church have called for new rules stipulating that popes who resign from office meet the lower office of cardinal, do not dress in white, and make no pronouncements on doctrine.
Reports by Philip Pullella; Edited by Kevin Liffey