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Reuters

Former Pope Benedict wants his name removed as co-author of a new book on the issue of priestly celibacy, his personal secretary said, in the latest twist to a saga that has kept the Roman Catholic world riveted.
Archbishop Georg Ganswein told Reuters that, at the former pope’s behest, he had asked the principal author of the book, Cardinal Robert Sarah, to contact the publishers to make the necessary changes.
The book, From the Depths of Our Hearts, was due to be published in France on Wednesday.
Excerpts were released at the weekend, angering some Roman Catholic scholars, who said Benedict risked undermining his successor, Pope Francis.
The book’s American publisher, Ignatius Press, said in a statement that it still “considers this a co-authored publication”, indicating that it may not comply with the former pope’s requests when the English version is released next month.
The episode has underscored the polarisation between conservatives and progressives in the 1.3 billion-member Church and prompted fresh debate on the role of a former pontiff.
Pope apologises for slapping hand of woman who grabbed him
Hours earlier, Cardinal Sarah rejected media accusations that he had used Benedict’s name without authorisation and that he had taken advantage of the frail, 92-year-old former pontiff, who in 2013 became the first pope to resign in 700 years.
“I solemnly affirm that Benedict XVI knew that our project would take the form of a book. I can say that we exchanged several texts to establish the corrections,” Sarah, 74, wrote on Twitter.
He later said that because of the polemics, in future editions of the book, Benedict would be named as a contributor and not a co-author.
“However, the full text remains absolutely unchanged,” he said.


In the book, Benedict and Sarah defend priestly celibacy in what some have seen as a strategically timed appeal to Francis not to change the rules after a proposal that he allow older married men to be ordained on a limited basis to deal with a shortage of priests in the Amazon. Francis is preparing a document on the issue.
Sarah also issued a long statement in his own defence, detailing his recent meetings with Benedict and restating that the former pope was informed of everything, including the cover of the book.
Why furious Pope Francis forced his top bodyguard to resign
He said accusations that he was manipulating Benedict were “despicable” and that his allegiance to Francis was “total”. He also published a signed letter from Benedict, in which the former pope wrote in Italian: “For my part, the text can be published in the form you have foreseen.”
The episode has sparked heated debate, including on social media far from the Vatican, on the role Benedict should have, if any, and whether he is being used by others.
“Has the pope emeritus become a brand that some manipulate and administer at will?” Luis Badilla, head of the Catholic website Il Sismografo, said in an editorial.
“Can the status of the emeritus pope be left in the hands of private people who do not have to answer to anyone?” Badilla said in apparent reference to those with access to Benedict, who lives in seclusion in a former monastery in the Vatican.
It is not the first time that Benedict has spoken out on Church matters despite his public vow to live “hidden from the world” after his abdication in 2013.
Benedict caused a stir last year with an essay in which he blamed the Church’s sexual abuse scandal on the effects of the sexual revolution in the 1960s.
Many Catholic theologians and abuse experts rebuked him, saying he was trying to shift blame away from the Church.


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Religion

Ex-pope Benedict wants name removed from bombshell book

Former Pope Benedict wants his name removed as co-author of a new book on the issue of priestly celibacy. Photo; DPA

Former Pope Benedict had vowed to live ‘hidden from the world’ when he stepped down as pope. File photo: EPA

Pope apologises for slapping hand of woman who grabbed him

A frame grab taken from a handout video shows a lady grabbing at Pope Francis’ hands in Vatican City. Photo: AFP

(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on January 1, 2020 of frame grabs taken from a handout video made available by Vatican Media shows from top left to bottom right, a lady (L) with her hands clasped as she watches Pope Francis greeting Catholic faithful as he arrives to celebrate New Year's Eve mass in Vatican City, the same lady (L) grabbing at Pope Francis' hands as he greets Catholic faithful, followed by Pope Francis slapping his way free from her clutches and Pope Francis turning around after freeing himself prior to celebrating New Year's Eve mass in Vatican City on December 31, 2019. - Pope Francis apologised on January 01 2020, for his widely-viewed slap on the hands of the woman in the image who had grabbed his hand as he greeted Catholic faithful on New Year's Eve. The image of Francis slapping his way free from the clutches of the admirer was an instant hit on social media. The 83-year-old pope grimaced before managing to break free by slapping her hand twice. (Pho

Why furious Pope Francis forced his top bodyguard to resign

Domenico Giani, a 20-year veteran of the Vatican’s security services, has stood by Francis’ side and jogged alongside his Popemobile during hundreds of public appearances and foreign trips. Photo: AP

Vatican head of security Domenico Giani, right, flanks Pope Francis' pope mobile at the end of a canonization Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019. The Vatican said Monday Oct. 14, 2019 that Francis’ chief bodyguard Giani has resigned over the leak of a Vatican police flyer identifying five Holy See employees who were suspended as part of a financial investigation, adding that Giani bore no responsibility for the leak, but that he had resigned to ensure the serenity of the investigation and “out of love for the church and faithfulness” to the pope. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

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Book on priestly celibacy comes as Pope Francis considers change
Underscores deep polarisation in Catholic Church



Retired former pope Benedict sought to calm a dispute within the Vatican, claiming his name was erroneously attributed as co-author to a new book with a conservative cardinal.


Pope Francis

Pope Benedict XVI

Books and literature

Ex-pope Benedict wants name removed from bombshell book

Book on priestly celibacy comes as Pope Francis considers change Underscores deep polarisation in Catholic Church

Book on priestly celibacy comes as Pope Francis considers change

Underscores deep polarisation in Catholic Church