Former Pope says destroying Vatican’s ‘gay lobby’ was one of his greatest achievements
By Will Stroude
Pope Benedict XVI has cited bringing about the downfall of a powerful group of senior gay officials within the Vatican as one of the most important achievements of his Papacy in an upcoming book.
The book, called Final Conversations, is an extended interview with German journalist Peter Seewald and will be released in several languages.
It will reportedly see the former Pope – who presided over a worldwide child abuse scandal and unwittingly exonerated a Holocaust-denying bishop before becoming the first Pope to fail to continue his Papacy until death in 600 years – admit that “practical governance” was not his forte, according to the Daily Mail.
The “gay lobby” is in reference to long-standing reports of a number of gay senior Vatican officials.
According to The Guardian, Pope Benedict believed the five men to be working together for the own advancement, rather than improving the church’s relationship with LGBT Catholics, and he subsequently had them removed from power.
Benedict also reveals that he was initially wary of Pope Francis, due to his more seemingly liberal image on social issues. However, according to reports, he goes on to say he has been happy with Francis’ papacy.
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