By Alvise Armellini
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis found an ally in his predecessor Benedict XVI when he spoke out in favor of civil unions for same-sex couples, the pontiff said in a new book published in Spain on Tuesday.
Francis has confirmed the Catholic Church’s opposition to LGBT marriages, but has repeatedly said that same-sex couples have the right to be protected by civil union laws.
Greater openness to the LGBT community was one of the hallmarks of his 11-year papacy, but the more conservative Benedict was not known to be sympathetic to the cause.
However, Francis said Benedict defended him to an anonymous group of cardinals who had come to him to complain about the pope’s “heresies” on civil unions.
“They showed up at his house to basically put me on trial and accused me in front of him of supporting same-sex marriage,” Francis said.
Benedict XVI listened, “helped them distinguish things” and told them that what Francis had said was “not heresy,” the pope said.
Francis made the revelation in the Spanish-language book “Pope Francis. The Successor: My Memories of Benedict XVI,” based on interviews with journalist Javier Martinez-Brocal.
As early as February 2023, the pope said Benedict had once rejected a complaint about what Francis said about civil unions, but provided fewer details.
SAME SEX BLESSINGS
In December, Francis allowed priests to bless same-sex couples, sparking outrage from conservatives, insisting that this did not amount to formal approval for non-heterosexual relationships.
There is no suggestion that Francis discussed that move with Benedict, who continued to live in the Vatican after his shock decision to retire in 2013, until his death in late 2022.
In the book, Francis denies that there was ever any personal friction with his predecessor during the unprecedented period of the so-called “two popes”.
He confirmed that he had a difficult relationship with Benedict’s secretary, Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, who published a book critical of Francis just hours after Benedict’s burial.
“Publishing a book that gets inside me on the day of the funeral, telling things that aren’t true, is very sad,” said Francis.
Francis, who is 87 years old and in increasingly poor health, also spoke about his funeral plans, confirming the plan to simplify burial rites for him and his successors.
The bodies of dead popes will no longer be displayed, lying in state, before being placed in a coffin, as was done for Benedict and previous pontiffs, he said.