The personal secretary of Pope Benedict XVI. is publishing a comprehensive book that will unearth the mysteries and scandals that have tarnished the reputation of the pope he served for nearly three decades
- Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, 66, will unveil his novel Nothing but the Truth: My Life Next to Pope Benedict XVI this month
- He was Pope Benedict XVI. aside for nearly three decades
- Gaenswein’s book contains “a personal testimony to the greatness of the Pope
- However, it also includes an account that would correct some “misunderstood” aspects of the pontificate
The personal secretary of Pope Benedict XVI. has written a tell-all book that will uncover the mysteries and scandals that have tarnished the reputation of a pope best known for his historic resignation.
Nothing but the Truth: My Life Next to Pope Benedict XVI. by Archbishop Georg Gänswein will be published this month by the Piemme publishing house of the Italian publisher Mondadori.
His publisher has promised the novel would tell the truth about the “blatant slanders” and “sinister manoeuvres” the Archbishop was subjected to during his nearly three decades of ministry.
Pope Benedict died on Saturday at the age of 95, and his body was displayed Monday in St. Peter’s Basilica ahead of a funeral Thursday to be celebrated by his successor, Pope Francis.
Pope Benedict XVI’s personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, has written a comprehensive book that will uncover the mysteries and scandals that have tarnished the pope’s reputation
Archbishop Gänswein, a 66-year-old German priest, stood by Benedict for almost three decades, first as an officer of then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, then from 2003 as Ratzinger’s personal secretary.
Gänswein followed his superior as secretary to the Apostolic Palace when Ratzinger was elected Pope in 2005.
And in one of the most memorable images from Benedict’s last day as Pope on February 28, 2013, Archbishop Gänswein wept as he accompanied Benedict through the frescoed halls of the Vatican and said goodbye.
He remained Benedict’s porter, confidant, and protector through a decades-long retirement, while also serving until recently as prefect of Francis’ papal household.
Archbishop Gänswein, a 66-year-old German priest, stood by Benedict for almost three decades
It was Archbishop Gänswein who celebrated the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick last Wednesday when Benedict’s health was deteriorating, and it was he who called Pope Francis on Saturday to tell him that Benedict had died.
According to Piemme, Archbishop Gänswein’s book contains “a personal testimony to the greatness of a gentle man, a good scholar, a cardinal and a pope who wrote the history of our time”.
But it said the book also contained a first-hand account that would correct some “misunderstood” aspects of the pontificate and the machinations of the Vatican.
“Today, following the death of the Pope Emeritus, it is time for the current Prefect of the Papal House to speak his own truth about the blatant slanders and dark maneuvers that have tried in vain to cast shadows on the Magisterium and the actions of the German Pope’s,” said a press release.
Archbishop Gänswein’s report would “finally reveal the true face of one of the greatest protagonists of recent decades, who has all too often been wrongly denigrated by critics as ‘Panzercardinal’ or ‘God’s Rottweiler’,” it said, alluding to some common media nicknames for the Germans for its conservative, doctrinaire leanings.
In particular, the editor said Archbishop Gaenswein will address the “Vatileaks” scandal in which Benedict’s own butler leaked his personal correspondence to a journalist.
It also included sex abuse scandals and one of the Vatican’s enduring mysteries, the disappearance in 1983 of the 15-year-old daughter of a Vatican employee, Emanuela Orlandi.