What happened?
Tn a rare interview, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has reaffirmed that “The Pope is one; is Francis.”
In the interview, conducted in the Vatican Gardens with Massimo Franco of Corriere della Sera, Benedict said that the Church’s unity had always prevailed despite severe threats over the course of Catholic history.
Why was it under-reported?
Benedict’s remark will have struck many as a mere statement of the obvious. In any case, it is not the first time that he has dismissed the idea of Francis not being pope. In 2014, Benedict said “There is absolutely no doubt regarding the validity of my renunciation of the Petrine ministry.” It was “simply absurd” to think otherwise, Benedict said in a blunt statement.
