In an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in March 2021, pope emeritus Benedict XVI spoke about the resignation of the post and denied having any participation in the papacy of Francis: “There are not two popes, the pope is only one”.
According to Benedict XVI, people close to him continued to believe the version that he had abdicated as a result of external pressure, to which he reinforced that the reason was his age.
“It was a difficult decision”, he explained, “but I took it in full conscience, and I believe that I did very well”, said Francis’ predecessor.
He commented that some friends, “somewhat fanatical”, were still angry about his decision.
According to the pope emeritus, they “believe in conspiracy theories. Some said that [a aposentadoria] it was because of the Vatileaks scandal, others because of a gay lobby plot, still others because of the case of conservative Lefebvrian theologian Richard Williamson. They don’t want to believe a consciously made choice. But my conscience is clear, ”he said.
Source: CNN Brasil
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