Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, has said Pope Francis is "serene" in the face of the Viganò controversy.
The cardinal made his remarks after Ansa, Italian news agency, quoted close collaborators of the Pope saying he felt "embittered" by the affair.
Parolin told La Stampa that the "bitterness and also restlessness" of recent days had not affected Francis.
He said: "I saw a declaration of the Vatican press office that states that the Pope is serene. From what I have seen (in these days, I have been with him during his trip to Ireland and afterwards), he seems serene. The Pope is a great grace, even faced with these things that obviously create so much bitterness and also restlessness. But he has the capacity of having a very serene approach."
