Tension in the Vatican revealed by top aide following death of Benedict XVI

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Hours following the funeral for the former Pope Benedict XVI, an Italian publisher released advanced copies of a tell-all book that has apparently revealed years of tension in the Vatican, Reuters first reported. 

Pope Benedict’s unprecedented 2013 resignation and subsequent refusal to leave the Vatican created an atmospheric setting in the holy city as he and Pope Francis both donned the signature white garb of the supreme pontiff, according to a long-time aide to Benedict. 

Archbishop Georg Ganswein, who worked for the former pope for 20 years, has written a 330-page book titled “Nothing But The Truth – My Life Beside Benedict XVI,” claiming that the former and current pontiffs butted heads over Pope Francis’ positions when it came to homosexuality and abortion, reported Reuters. 

Pope Francis greets Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI during a mass to create 20 new cardinals during a ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Feb. 14, 2015.
(REUTERS/Tony Gentile/File Photo)

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Benedict’s hardline approach to social issues reportedly contributed to a slew of critiques of Francis, particularly among conservative American cardinals. 

Ganswein served as Benedict’s personal secretary from 2003, when Benedict was still Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, and through his time as pope and during his retirement. 

The 66-year-old kept his job as Prefect of the Pontifical Household following Pope Francis’ appointment and maintained his roll as private secretary to Benedict in the years that followed. 

Ganswein reportedly said he was never able to reach “a climate of trust” with Francis, who he believed kept him on out of respect to Benedict XVI – the first Pope to resign in 600 years. 

VATICAN – 2023/01/02: Archbishop Georg Gänswein prays in front of the body of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at St. Peter’s Basilica. The Vatican announced that Pope Benedict died on December 31, 2022, aged 95. His funeral was held on January 5, 2023. 
( Photo by Stefano Costantino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images.)

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Ganswein was apparently fired in 2020 from his hos role as prefect after he reportedly became embroiled in a controversy relating to a book written by conservative Cardinal Robert Sarah regarding priestly celibacy.

Sarah reportedly claimed that Benedict was co-author to the book, though the former pope contested that and said he wanted his name removed from it. 

Francis was apparently displeased with how Ganswein handled the issue told him “not come back to work tomorrow” but allowed him to keep his job with Benedict.

DECEMBER 23: Pope Francis met former Pope Benedict XVI to exchange Christmas greetings, in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery, Benedict XVI’s new residence on December 23, 2013, in Vatican City. 
((Photo by Maurix/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images))

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Benedict reportedly wrote two letters to Francis to try and clear up the situation and said that Ganswein was suffering after being caught up in the middle of the issue, noting that he was “under attack from all sides.”

The book’s announcement came just two days after Benedict died Saturday, with the publishers promising to disclose the truth about the “blatant calumnies and dark maneuvers that have tried in vain to cast shadows on the German pontiff’s magisterium and actions.”

Fox News could not immediately reach the Vatican for comment. 

Caitlin McFall is a Reporter at Fox News Digital covering Politics, U.S. and World news.