The Pope Emeritus Prays, But Also Advises. Here's How
With Francis reigning, Benedict extols John Paul and above all his encyclical "Veritatis Splendor" on the foundations of morality. He was a pope, he says, who was not afraid of "how his decisions would be received".
In his latest interview, with "Corriere della Sera," Pope Francis has revealed that he has struck a deal with Joseph Ratzinger on a new role for the "pope emeritus," unprecedented in the history of the Church:
"The pope emeritus is not a statue in a museum. It is an institution. We have not been accustomed to this. Sixty or seventy years ago, the bishop emeritus did not exist. It came after the Council. Today it is an institution. The same thing must happen for the pope emeritus. Benedict is the first, and perhaps there will be others. We do not know. He is discrete, humble, he does not want to be a nuisance. We have spoken about it and have decided together that it would be better that he see people, get out and participate in the life of the Church. [. . .] Some may have wished that he would retire to a Benedictine abbey far from the Vatican. I have thought of the grandparents who with their wisdom, their advice bring strength to the family and do not deserve to end up in a nursing home.”
No sooner said than done. A few days ago a book came with a previously unpublished text by Benedict XVI. And this is not a matter of just any sort of text. But of a judgment that the last pope - under the reign of his successor - is pronouncing on his predecessor, John Paul II. A veritable public judgment not only on the person but on the central features of that memorable pontificate.
With accents that cannot help but be juxtaposed with the current situation of the Church.
Some media, in covering the news of this text by the "pope emeritus," have emphasized the passage in which he recounts how the question of liberation theology was addressed in the first phase of Karol Wojtyla's pontificate.
But there are other significant passages. Two in particular.
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