Vatican, Ratzinger’s accusation: “Propaganda against me, they want to silence me”
Accusations of interfering in public debates and Vatican affairs are “just a malicious distortion of reality,” explained 93-year-old Joseph Ratzinger in an interview published in the German-language book Benedikt XVI – Ein Leben. “I don’t want to analyze the real reasons why they want to silence my voice,” added the Pope Emeritus.
The claims that I regularly interfere in public debates and Vatican affairs “is just a malicious distortion of reality”, declared Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in an interview contained in the German-language book Benedikt XVI – Ein Leben ( Benedict XVI – A life) written by the journalist Peter Seewald. In the interview, published at the bottom of the book, the 93-year-old Joseph Ratzinger he wished to point out that behind those gratuitous attacks there would actually be other reasons whose ultimate purpose would be to silence him. Benedict XVI vehemently rejected accusations of interfering in his successor’s work after his resignation as Pontiff by pointing to the attacks on his person as part of a propaganda that “just wants to silence my voice”.
For Ratzinger the maximum of “Psychological propaganda” there was against him during the wave of criticism following the publication in 2018 of his essay on the relationship with Judaism which also spoke of the theme of evangelization of the Jews. Controversies that prompted him to clarify his words. “The spectacle of the reactions of German theology is so foolish and so bad that it is better not to talk about it. I don’t want to analyze the real reasons why they want to silence my voice ”, declared the Pope Emeritus during the interview.
Also with regard to his unprecedented role as pope emeritus, Ratzinger defended himself by recalling that he is not a shadow pope but a figure similar to the emeritus bishops. Benedict XVI assured that contrary to what has been repeated after every affirmation of him on the future of the church, his relationship with Bergoglio is excellent and it has grown stronger from year to year. Ratzinger revealed that he thanked God for the fact that “the warm attention of Pope Francis” allowed him to implement the idea of a pope emeritus. From their first meeting after his election in 2013, there has been a personal friendship that has since “not only remained, but has grown”.
