Painful episodes for Pope Francis
According to two recent publications, Pope Francis has experienced several painful episodes during his pontificate related to attempts to present him in opposition to Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI. This information comes from the book ‘Mi vida. Mi historia dentro de la historia’ by the Italian Vaticanist Fabio Marchese and from the volume ‘El sucessor’ written by the Spanish journalist Javier Martínez-Brocal.
The book ‘My life. My story within the story’
In the book ‘My life. Mi historia dentro de la historia’, which is an autobiography of Pope Francis prepared together with Marchese, the pope expresses his pain at seeing how the figure of the Pope emeritus has been exploited for ideological and political purposes by unscrupulous people.
The book ‘The Successor’
On the other hand, Martínez-Brocal’s book ‘The Successor’ focuses on the relationship between Francis and Benedict XVI for ten years. In this book, Francesc highlights the deep relationship he had with his predecessor and expresses the desire that this relationship be known without intermediaries. Martínez-Brocal also points out that the book reveals tender details between the two Popes, such as the gifts Francis brought to Benedict from his apostolic travels and the correspondence they maintained.
Revelations about attempts to damage the relationship
This book has caused an impact due to some of Francis’ revelations about the attempts to damage the relationship between the two Popes. Martínez-Brocal points out that Benedict XVI was not against Francis and that whoever defended Benedict was not really defending him, but attacking Pope Francis.