VATICAN CITY, Dec. 31 – The Vatican on Sunday marked the first anniversary of the death of Pope Benedict XVI, and one of his closest aides said he would never have approved a recent statement allowing Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples. sex.
Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, doctrinal head of the Church during Benedict XVI’s rule, and Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, Benedict XVI’s private secretary, both Germans, led an event commemorating the anniversary and organized by the conservative Catholic television network EWTN , based in the United States.
“It would never have happened (under Benedict) because it was so ambiguous,” Mueller said on the sidelines of the event when asked by Reuters about the historic statement issued on December 18.
While the December statement says such blessings cannot resemble the sacrament of marriage between a man and a woman and cannot be part of rituals or liturgies, some advocates for greater inclusion of LGBT people saw it as a possible precursor to the same-sex marriage in the Church. .
“There is no such thing as gay marriage. It does not exist, it cannot exist, despite the ideologies that we have (today),” said Mueller, whom Francis removed as head of the Vatican’s doctrinal department after Benedict resigned in 2013.
Pope Benedict XVI at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in Vatican City on December 31, 2022. ZUMA Press
Francis briefly highlighted the anniversary in his Sunday blessing to the crowd in St. Peter’s Square, saying that Benedict had “served the Church with love and wisdom” and that “we feel so much affection, so much gratitude, so much admiration for him.”
Francis then asked the crowd to applaud Benedict, who was the first pope in 700 years to resign rather than rule for life.
Mueller said that while his personal relationship with Francis is “very good,” he does not hesitate to disagree with him publicly on doctrinal issues because “we are not in the Soviet Union, where only one leader has a voice.”
Mueller said that “the best thing we can do for the Pope is to always be close to Catholic truth and faith and not be here as sycophants.”
Earlier in St. Peter’s Basilica, Gaenswein, Benedict’s secretary, celebrated a mass in Benedict’s memory. Gaenswein’s voice broke twice with emotion as he read his homily.
“This would never have happened (with Benedict) because he was very ambiguous,” Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Mueller told Reuters. AP
Benedict’s shocking resignation divided the Church, with many saying he should not have resigned.
His 10 years living in the Vatican as “Pope Emeritus” widened the divide between conservatives and progressives, and some staunch traditionalists did not recognize Francis as a leader.
“I think a lot of controversies will be forgotten,” Gaenswein said on the sidelines of the television event. “What remains is the substance, and (as to) the substance of his papacy, history will judge.”
Gaenswein, whom Francis sent back to Germany after Benedict’s death, said that when Benedict decided to resign, the former pope was convinced he had at most a year to live.
“I pray that he is a saint. I hope I am a saint. And I am convinced that he will be a saint,” he stated.
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn