Pope Francis said Sunday that some opponents within the Catholic Church have "exploited" the death of his predecessor Benedict XVI to criticize his own pontificate. Benedict XVI resigned as pope in 2013, but until his death on January 31, aged 95, he remained a figurehead for the conservative wing of the church, which deemed Francis too progressive.
The latter, speaking to the press on the plane returning from South Sudan, dismissed "some stories being told that Benedict XVI was bitter because of the action of the new pope". "Indeed, I consulted Benedict for certain decisions to be made. And he accepted. He agreed. I believe the death of Benedict XVI was instrumentalized by people who want to bring grist to their own mill,” Francis said. "And those who instrumentalize such a good person, such a man of God, I would almost say a holy father of the Church, are people without ethics, who act for partisan ends, and not people of the Church", he charged.
“I wanted to give this clarification on the personality of Pope Benedict. He was not an embittered person,” Francois said. He did not name anyone, but Benedict XVI's closest associate, Georg Gänswein, published memoirs after the latter's death in which he recounts tensions between the ex-pope and Francis. Mr. Gänswein claims in particular that the Argentine pope had "broken the heart" of his predecessor by limiting the use of Latin that he himself had developed.
