The Vatican was gripped Tuesday by a dispute over whether elderly ex-pope Benedict XVI was being used by the Catholic Church’s ultra-conservative wing to undermine his successor, Pope Francis. At least three Vatican correspondents cited a source close to Benedict saying the former pontiff had not co-authored a controversial book with a conservative cardinal. When France’s Le Figaro newspaper published extracts of the book on Sunday, it was presented as a collaboration between Benedict and the ultra-conservative Cardinal Robert Sarah. But sources late Monday threw doubt on the extent of Benedict’s collaboration with Cardinal Sarah, raising questions as to whether the 92-year old pope emeritus was being exploited. ‘Attacks’Cardinal Sarah took to Twitter to “solemnly affirm that Benedict XVI knew that our project would take the form of a book”.

Source: The Guardian January 14, 2020 11:26 UTC