Benedikt XVI. Performed as Voice for Phone Answering Machine of Seewald Sons

Peter Seewald, the biographer of Benedict XVI asked Benedict in 2010 - who was still Pope at that time and was staying in Castel Gandolfo - whether he would be willing to speak a text for the answering machine of his sons' mobile phone.

Benedict XVI replied, "Why not?" - Seewald told Süddeutsche.de (16 May). Benedict spoke in a soft voice on the tape recorder: "This is the automatic answering machine of Paul and Jakob Seewald. Please leave a message after the beep."

Seewald commented: "He was Pope at the time, it's really unimaginable" - which indeed it is. It was also totally off the mark for Seewald to ask Benedict for such a stupidity, and it is even more off the mark that he made this embarrassing event public.

Picture: Benedikt XVI, 2010, © Mazur, CC BY-NC-SA, #newsQtdkpaetji