Liberal incumbent pope asks God to comfort and support retired conservative pope until ‘the end’
Pope Francis has said his retired predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, is “very sick” and asked for God to comfort him until “the end”.
Benedict, 95, resigned as pontiff in 2013 and has since lived within the walls of the Vatican. He chose to be called Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI after the abdication, instead of reverting to Joseph Ratzinger. Benedict also wrote a letter complimenting Cardinal Joachim Meisner – a fierce critic of Francis who spoke out against the pontiff allowing remarried divorcees to receive holy communion – who died in 2017.
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