Hours after the funeral of former Pope Benedict XVI. An Italian publisher released advance copies of a tell-all book that appears to have revealed years of tensions at the Vatican, Portal was first to report.
Pope Benedict’s unprecedented resignation in 2013 and subsequent refusal to leave the Vatican created an atmospheric backdrop in the Holy City as he and Pope Francis both donned the supreme pope’s signature white robe, according to a longtime advisor to Benedict.
Archbishop Georg Ganswein, who worked for the former pope for 20 years, published a 330-page book entitled Nothing but the Truth: My Life Next to Benedict XVI It was about homosexuality and abortion, Portal reported.
Pope Francis welcomes Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI during a mass to nominate 20 new cardinals during a ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican February 14, 2015. (Portal/Tony Gentile/File Photo)
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Reportedly, Benedict’s uncompromising handling of social issues contributed to a number of criticisms of Francis, particularly among conservative American cardinals.
Ganswein has served as Benedict’s personal secretary since 2003, when Benedict was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, and during his time as Pope and during his retirement.
The 66-year-old retained his post as Prefect of the Papal Household after Pope Francis’ appointment and continued to serve as Benedict’s private secretary in the years that followed.
Ganswein reportedly said he was never able to achieve a “climate of trust” with Francis, which he believed was out of respect for Benedict XVI. – the first pope to resign in 600 years.
VATICAN – 01/02/2023: Archbishop Georg Gänswein prays in front of the body of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. in St. Peter’s Basilica. The Vatican announced that Pope Benedict died on December 31, 2022 at the age of 95. His funeral took place on January 5, 2023. (Photo by Stefano Costantino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images.)
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Ganswein was apparently released from his hos role as prefect in 2020 after he was reportedly embroiled in a controversy over a book by conservative Cardinal Robert Sarah on priestly celibacy.
Sarah reportedly claimed Benedict was a co-author of the book, although the former pope disputed this, saying he wanted his name removed from it.
Apparently unhappy with how Ganswein had handled the issue, Francis told him “not coming back to work tomorrow” but allowed him to keep his job at Benedict.
DECEMBER 23: Pope Francis met on December 23, 2013 at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, the new residence of Benedict XVI. in Vatican City, with former Pope Benedict XVI. together to exchange Christmas greetings. ((Photo by Maurix/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images))
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Benedict reportedly wrote two letters to Francis to clarify the situation, saying that Ganswein was suffering after being caught in the middle of the affair and noting that he was “being attacked from all sides”.
The book’s announcement came just two days after Benedict’s death on Saturday, with the editors pledging to reveal the truth about the “blatant slanders and dark maneuvers that have tried in vain to cast shadows over the magisterium and actions of the German pope.” .
Fox News could not immediately reach the Vatican for comment.
Caitlin McFall is a reporter at Fox News Digital covering politics, US and world news.