Pope Benedict XVI’s personal secretary to publish tell-all book which will lift the lid on scandals

The personal secretary of Pope Benedict XVI has written a revealing book that will reveal the mysteries and scandals that tarnished the reputation of a pontiff best known for his historic resignation.

Archbishop Georg Gaenswein’s book, Nothing But The Truth: My Life Beside Pope Benedict XVI, will be published this month by Italian publisher Mondadori’s Piemme imprint.

His publisher promised that the novel would tell the truth about the “blatant slanders” and “dark maneuvers” the archbishop encountered during his service for nearly three decades.

Pope Benedict XVI died on Saturday, aged 95, and his body was displayed Monday in St. Peter’s Basilica ahead of a funeral Thursday to be held by his successor, Pope Francis.

The personal secretary of Pope Benedict XVI, Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, has written a revealing book that will reveal the mysteries and scandals that tarnished the pontiff’s reputation.

Archbishop Gaenswein, a 66-year-old German priest, was at Benedict’s side for nearly three decades, first as a civil servant working for then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and then from 2003 as secretary. Ratzinger staff. .

Gaenswein followed his superior to the Apostolic Palace as secretary when Ratzinger was elected pope in 2005.

And in one of the most memorable images of Benedict XVI’s last day as Pope on February 28, 2013, Archbishop Gaenswein wept as he escorted Benedict XVI past the frescoes in the Vatican rooms, saying goodbye.

He remained Benedict XVI’s guardian, confidant and protector during a decade of retirement, while also serving until recently as prefect of Francis’ papal household.

Archbishop Gaenswein, a 66-year-old German priest, stood by Benedict’s side for nearly three decades.

It was Archbishop Gaenswein who celebrated the sacrament of the anointing of the sick last Wednesday, when Benedict’s health deteriorated, and it was he who called Francis on Saturday to tell him that Benedict had died.

According to Piemme, Archbishop Gaenswein’s book contains “a personal testimony about the greatness of an affable man, a great scholar, a cardinal and a pope who made the history of our time.”

But he said the book also contained a firsthand account that would correct some “misunderstood” aspects of the pontificate, as well as the Vatican’s machinations.

“Today, after the death of the pope emeritus, the time has come for the current prefect of the pontifical household to tell his own truth about the flagrant slander and dark maneuvers that have tried in vain to overshadow the magisterium and the actions of the German pontiff. ‘ said a press release.

Archbishop Gaenswein’s account “would finally reveal the true face of one of the greatest protagonists of recent decades, too often unfairly denigrated by critics as ‘Panzerkardinal’ or ‘God’s Rottweiler,’ he said, referring to some nicknames common in the media for the German acquaintance. because of his conservative and doctrinal inclination.

Specifically, the publisher said Archbishop Gaenswein would address the ‘Vatileaks’ scandal, in which Benedict’s own butler leaked his personal correspondence to a journalist.

It also included sex abuse scandals and one of the Vatican’s enduring mysteries, the 1983 disappearance of the 15-year-old daughter of a Vatican employee, Emanuela Orlandi.