Monsignor Georg Ganswein will be Apostolic Nuncio to Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia: Pope Francis nominated him, as is customary. Indeed, to the former secretary of Benedict XVI, currently Titular Archbishop of Urbisaglia And Prefect emeritus of the Papal Household, had been proposed three destinations on as many continentsfrom the Costa Rica to an African country. But the choice of Baltic countriescertainly not an indifferent area for international politics, given their proximity to Russiawould have been linked for «Don Georg» to the possibility of being closer to his family in Germany. Furthermore, in the Vatican there had already been talk of the Francis’ desire for “détente” towards the cardinal: no rancor, no hostility, but rather the offer of an important position.
The book released after Benedict’s funeral and the criticism of Francis
The Holy See’s announcement effectively closes the “dispute” that pitted the former secretary of the Pope Emeritus against the current Pontiff. The opening of hostilities was marked, a few days after Ratzinger’s death, by the book “Nothing but the truth” in which Ganswein, close to “his” Pope from 1992 until his death on 31 December 2022 at the age of 95, he did not spare criticism of Francis. And in an iinterview with the German Catholic newspaper «Die Tagespost»released a few days after Ratzinger’s funeral, had revealed that the crackdown on the Latin Mass, decided by the Pope in office with the «Tradizionis custodias», the Motu proprio (i.e. the document that contains an autonomous, final and immediately valid decision of the Pope for the entire Catholic Church) of 16 July 2021 which contained strong restrictions on the celebrations of the Masses in Latin and according to pre-conciliar use, much loved and promoted by Pope Ratzinger , it had “broken his heart”.
Francis’ “reply” in Javier Martinez Brocal’s book
Francesco’s equally harsh “reply” came out a few months ago in the book written with Spanish journalist Javier Martinez-Brocal, “The successor”published in Italy by Marsilio: «It pained me that they have used Benedetto against me. Don Gaenswain’s book was published on the day of his burial, and it seemed to me a lack of nobility and humanity”. And speaking of Ratzinger, in the book Francis insisted on underlining the always excellent relations with his predecessor, denying that there had been disagreements between them: «He never said “I don’t agree”. He said: “This is very good, like this. This too should be taken into consideration. Benedetto was the man least attached to power he had ever known. He quit because he no longer felt strong enough to best carry out its role.” But already at the second Angelus after the death of his predecessor, he had chanted from St. Peter’s Square: «A Christian does not use the harshness of those who judge and condemn dividing people into good and bad, but the mercy of those who welcome by sharing the wounds and fragilities of sisters and brothers, to raise them up. I would like to say it like this: not dividing, but sharing. Let’s do like Jesus: let’s share, let’s carry each other’s burdens, instead of chatter and destroy, let’s look at each other with compassion, let’s help each other.”
Sent to Freiburg, without any real assignment
A silence full of misunderstandings had descended between the Pope and the former Prefect of the Papal Household, a position decided by Pope Benedict: Gaenswein was then sent to Freiburg, without any real assignment. As he no longer had even in the last years of Benedetto’s life. Especially after the release of the book, critical of Bergoglio, by African cardinal and traditionalist Robert Sarah, with Benedict’s preface, immediately withdrawn, but for which the Pope attributed the “blame” to Don Georg. THE first signs of détente between the two dates back to last April, when the idea of an assignment abroad began to circulate. And today’s appointment seems to have definitively closed the issue.
