Vatican: Archbishop Gänswein on Benedict XVI’s Resignment
On August 25, 2013, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Benedct XVI’s private secretary, firmly denied the article published by the agency Zenith on August 21, that claimed that the Pope Emeritus had evoked a “mystical experience” as the cause behind his decision to resign from the sovereign pontificate.
In an interview broadcasted by the Italian channel “TG5”, Benedict XVI’s closest colleague stated that this article was “pure invention from A to Z”.
Widely republished by the Italian and international press, zenit.org’s article claimed that the former pope had explained to an anonymous source that he had renounced his charge after having been called by God in a “mystical experience”. “It was God who told me to,” supposedly confided Benedict XVI, who now lives in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery, in the Vatican gardens. The Pope Emeritus also supposedly stated that seeing Francis’ actions, he realized more and more that his resignment was “the will of God”. According to Archbishop Georg Gänswein, “there is no truth in this article.” (sources: apic/le monde/vdeo.media.it – DICI#281, Sept. 13, 2013)
