Those who obsess about 'two Popes' might well take umbrage at this article.
Don Georg: In many ways,
Benedict XVI's 'aid' to Pope Francis
as his Pontificate starts off
by GIACOMO GALEAZZI
Translated from the Italian service of
March 17, 2013
A discreet presence, one that was hardly taken for granted, on the eve of the election of a new Pope, Mons. Georg Gaenswein, prefect of the Pontifical Household99, has been constantly near Pope Francis since his first public appearances the day after he greeted and blessed the world as the new Pope.
From the early morning prayer visit to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore to the meeting with the media on Saturday in the Aula Paolo VI, the role of Archbishop Gaenswein agt the start of this Pontificate goes well beyond his official duties as Prefect of the Pontifical Household.
In fact one sees an affective participation that says much about Gaenswein's personality. reflected in words he said a few months ago to describe his work with Pope Benedict XVI - to whom he has been the private secretary since 2003. That he wished to do his work as transparently as clear glass in order not to obscure the Pope in any way.
And if Papa Ratzinger's closest aide wept openly that afternoon when together (like father and son) they left the Papal Apartment for the last time last February 28, it was another emotional moment for him on Thursday afternoon when the seals on the apartment formally placed right after 8:00 p.m. that day were removed for the new Pope to take possession.
He had to help Pope Francis push open the front door which seemed to have been stuck. And once they had entered, the memories must have assailed don Georg, who seemed to have become abstracted that his regent, Mons. Leonardo Sapienza, brought him back to the moment by reminding him to turn on the lights.
The new Pope who is so different from 'his' Pope has obviously struck a sympathetic chord in Gaenswein, On Saturday morning, when the Pope told the media that Benedict XVI's decision to resign had been inspired by the Holy Spirit for the good of the Church, don Georg was evidently very moved.
In public, he has so far been never far away from Pope Francis, but behind the scenes, one imagines that he is giving the new Pope the benefit of his close knowledge of Benedict's Pontificate ,if only to orient Pope Francis in the practical aspects of the inner workings in the Vatican. And to offer his knowledge and observations on pending issues like Vatileaks, the FSSPX, the reform of the Curia, and Vatican finances.
He has become something like the 'shuttle' between two Pontificates, an unprecedented role in the history of the Church as the point of contact between the reigning Pope and the emeritus Pope.
He continues to be Papa Ratzinger's private secretary and now lives with him in Castel Gandolfo, along with the rest of the 'pontifical family' from the Vatican. At the same time, he is running the Pontifical Household of the new Pope. Beyond any protocol or written SOP, he is substantially the transmission belt during this initial phase of Francis's Pontificate.
A Curial head remarked: "He is carrying out a very sensitive task, not so much for what he is doing as Prefect, but because, on behalf of Papa Ratzinger, he is helping the transition in terms of sensitive matters". In short, that the presence (and advice, if required) of Mn.s Gaenswein is a way by which Benedict XVI is helping his successor in the meanderings of the Roman Curia and 'protecting' his successor in the usually slippery course of transition.
The cardinal noted that "It is don Georg who had the Vatileaks dossier to be handed to Benedict's successpr", referring to the report of Cardinals Herranz, Tomko and De Giorgi on the environment and situation in the Curia that made Vatileaks possible.
On Tuesday, Mons. Gaenswein was at the Sistine Chapel up to the extra omnes, being one of the last to leave after the call. On Thursday morning, he was with the new Pope in Rome's Marian basilica [and Pope Francis's visit to recover his luggage and pay his bill at the hotel where he was staying before the Conclave]; then at the Missa pro ecclesia in the afternoon at the Sistine Chapel with the cardinal electors. On Friday, he took part in the Pope's meeting with the full College of Cardinals in the Sala Clementina, many of whom presented letters and gifts to Pope Francis, who passed them on to Francis, the Prefect of is household. Seated or standing to the right of Pope Francis, don Georg was the visible link to the emeritus Pope whom his successor has cited quite a few times. On Saturday, he sat in his usual place as Prefect to the right of Pope Francis when he met the media representatives gathered in Rome for the Conclave and his inaugural Mass.
Don Georg was also a player in an unusual sidelight, when Cardinal Nycz of Poland, after rendering his personal homage to Pope Francis, did not go back to his seat right away but stopped to ask Gaenswein about the emeritus Pope and to ask him to convey his best wishes. A gesture not observed by Cardinal Dsiwisz, who had been to John Paul II what Gaenswein is to Benedict XVI.
As Prefect of the Pontifical Household, don Georg is in charge of preparing the schedule of Pope Francis, but he continues to be Benedict XVI's right hand.
[Of course, no one knows if Pope Francis will keep him on in his Curial position which he continues to hold provisionally like the other Curial heads.]
One area that Mons. Gaenswein could help Pope Francis is to tell him which persons he can trust in the Curia for confidential tasks.
A question is what becomes of Mons. Alfred Xuereb, Benedict's other private secretary, who is with him now in Castel Gandolfo to assist him during the day while Mons. Gaenswein is at work?
Strangely enough, on March 17, 2012, I had a couple of posts about the two secretaries of Benedict XVI, as follows:
At book presentation,
Pope's secretary decries
distorted media image
of Benedict XVI
MUNICH, March 16 (Translated from kath.net/KNA) - The Pope's private secretary, Prelate Georg Gaenswein, used part of the media presentation Thursday evening of a new book to criticize the image that most media generally had of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and which continues to be ascribed to Benedict XVI, saying that this was for the most part a distortion.
He pointed out that this became especially true after the Pope had lifted the excommunication of four FSSPX bishops, including Mons. Richard Williamson, who had publicly made negationist statements about the Holocaust, although the Pope was not made aware of this earlier.
Gaenswein said that the Pope's distorted image was most evident in the German and Anglophone media, calling on the media to correct this distortion. He said, "Whoever knows what the Pope says - which they can read, as his texts are always published - can ask themselves whether they are not watching the wrong film".
He also denied media claims that 'negative news' is withheld from Benedict XVI. "He is always informed about good news as well as bad, and he has long learned how to deal with criticism, to place them in context, and to welcome constructive critiques".
A tribute to Benedict XVI
for his 85th birthday
by Christine Schröpf
]Translated from
March 16, 2012
MUNICH - He has been called 'the George Clooney of the Vatican'. Pope Benedict XVI's good-looking private secretary came to Munich for a quick visit in order to present to the media an early 85th birthday gift for the Pope.
Gaenswein was joined by former Bavarian President Minister Edmuhd Stoiber for the book presentation at the Munich Press Club of the book
Benedikt XVI: Prominente über den Papst, a tribute to Benedict XVI from 20 prominent Germans whose lives have been affected by Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, and who describe their personal impressions and experiences in this regard.
The testimonials come from churchmen, entrepreneurs, politicians, theologians and sports figures from football icon Franz Beckenbauer and the ski champion Maria Höfl-Riesch' from Cardinals Joachim Meisner of Cologne and Reinahrd Marx of Munich-Freising to Benedictine abbot Notker Eolf, from prominent Protestants like Peter GGauweiler and the former Minister President Christine Lieberknecht of Thuringia; from Federal Finance Minister Wolfgang Scaheuble to Bavarian Social Minister Christine Hadertbauer.
Gaenswein rarely makes public appearances on his own. Thursday night he was besieged by cameramen and media representatives who also wanted him to sign their copies of the new book.
At the book presentation, he began by conveying the Holy Father's greetings. Then he said that as the editor of the book, he had not asked the contributors to 'praise' the Pope, nor that he had wanted only to get 'sweet music from Germany' for the project.
The presentation took place not far from the Mariensäule - where in 2006, on his visit to Bavaria, Benedict XVI had declared that "My heart always beats Bavarian" to describe his what he feels about his native land.
Back in 1982, when he said goodbye to Munich as its archbishop to go to Rome as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he had said at a farewell ceremony in Marienplatz, „Etiam Romae, semper civis bavaricus ero“ (Even in Rome, I will always remain Bavarian).
Bundestag representative Peter Gauweiler noted in his testimonial that "over the years, Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI has always prided himself in being Bavarian".
Gauweiler's path crossed that of the man who is now Pope since 2001 in the lead-up towards the US-led war in Iraq, when Cardinal Ratzinger made it possible for Gauweiler to visit Baghdad. He brought letters from ranking Bavarian religious leaders to Saddam Huseein expressing their hopes for peace, along John Paul II's advocacy that a war in Iraq was not justifiable. Gauweiler also represented the sentiments of his own party (CDU), whom he had challenged at the party's annual meeting, "Who will you favor - President Bush or the Pope?"
Gauweiler's most recent encounter was during the Pope's visit to Germany last year, when he met with leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt where Martin Luther had lived and worked.
"The decade leading to the 500th anniversary of the Reformation couldn't have had a better beginning," he notes. "Where it all began for Luther, the Pope praised his brother Catholic Luther's search for reforms as well as salvation..."
Germany's football 'Kaiser' (emperor) Franz Beckenbauer recalls in the book that he found his way back to the faith after meeting the Pope in 2006 at the Vatican, when he was on a world tour to promote the World Cup held in Germany that year and presented him with a World Cup pennant. He said he found Benedict XVI surprisingly well-informed about football.
Since then, eh said, the picture of that meeting has gone with him on every trip, because he began to go to Church again, going every morning after he dropped off his children in school. "I find the silence pleasing and I pray - prayers of gratitude since God has always given me graces, and I have had much good fortune in my life".
Mons. Ganeswein himself contributes his own tribute, that begins with a question that a reporter for this newspaper had asked the Pope on his trip to Berlin in 2011. We wanted to know how German he still felt, and the Pope replied that he would always be German but that his position meant he now belonged to the universal People of God which gives a new dimension to his nationality.
Mons. Gaenswein, looking back at almost seven years of Benedict's Pontificate, praises his his ease as Pope ('the Pope of words'), his sincerity, his simplicity - and his courage. "He calls out shortcomings and errors by name".
At the same time, he says, the Pope is not 'unmoved' by criticism. "Good news makes him happy, and reacts with a heavy heart to reports that are injurious", as he denied that bad news is kept from the Pope. However, he says, media criticisms do not constitute "the standard under which the ship of the Vatican sails".
The birthday book, he hopes, will give a well-rounded picture of the Pope and correct distortions of his image. The 20 essays provide 20 portraits of the Pope from Catholics as well as a few critics.
'My days alongside Benedict XVI'
by Mons. Alfred Xuereb
Translated from
March 12, 2012
You listen to someone you live alongside of practically the whole day and you are even more aware how much and how often the media have distorted the image of the present Pope.
Ratzinger [as most media people. even Catholic journalists, often refer to him rather disrespectfully - what does it cost them to say 'Papa' or 'Pope' as well?] the professor, the Teuton, detached, insensitive, immovable, intransigent, and much worse. And you know it isn't that way at all.
So, how is he, really, this 265th Successor of Peter at the dawn of the third millennium, the 'rock' - the man who alone on earth represents a history begun a long time ago in Galilee, and who carries, along with the Good News, the incredible burden of 2,000 years of Christianity?
And you discover that Benedict XVI, born Joseph Ratzinger, is, yes, an ex-professor of vast culture from Bavaria, but also a man of extraordinary humanity, faith and gentleness.
Don Alfred Xuereb, 53, Maltese, has been since 2007 one of the Supreme Pontiff's two private secretaries (along with Mons. Georg Gaenswein). He lives in the Vatican, in an apartment above that of the Pope's. Last February he was in Nichelino (a small city near Turin) for a lightning visit, when the city was in the grip of an icy winter, to mark the fifth anniversary of his friend and fellow Maltese priest, Don Joe Galea.
Meeting that night with the young people of the parish, Don Alfred did not decline to answer their questions about what it's like to live so close to the Pope.
He answered with disarming simplicity: "My service begins at six in the morning and ends around nine at night. Almost every day, the Pope receives various groups and persons, but on Wednesdays, there is always a crowd for the General Audience.
"Everyday, a great deal of correspondence arrives from the Secretariat of State, One of my duties is to gather all the requests for prayers that arrive for the Pope - from sick people, from those who are going through difficulties, and those who are suffering. I place these every day on the prie-Dieu in the private chapel where the Pope spends time in recollection and prayer.
"What impresses me most is that among the thousand things he has to do, he remembers names and persons. Days after he first reads their names, he will follow up and ask about their particular circumstances."
Benedict XVI maintains a human and paternal relationship with those who work with him most directly. "You can observe it even in small things. For example, the other day, after lunch, we were going down to the Gardens to pray the rosary. It was rather cold so I helped him put on a windbreaker. Later, as we emerged from the elevator, it was his turn to help me on with my raincoat. He said to me, 'See, we must help each other'."
"And whenever he knows that I have just called home [to Malta], he always asks me how my mother is doing. When I had to come to Nichelino, I explained to him why - and he remembered about Don Joe, and about Don Joshua and a new book by Don Paolo [other priest friends of Mons. Alfred]. And I am sure when I get back, he will ask all about my trip."
Everyday at the Vatican, people come - chiefs of state, bishops, ordinary people from all parts of the globe. The desk of the Successor of Peter is always flooded with a myriad of internal and external problems, controversies, tragic news from places where the Church and the faithful live on the edge in very difficult circumstances. The picture is global. What must the Pope do? What must he say? How can he let his voice be heard, without making it worse for Christians who are already being persecuted?
"Benedict XVI is serene - he is supported by his very great faith. He is a man who continues to live the Gospel in a very simple way". And that's how the boat of the fisherman Peter has proceeded. For over 2,000 years. Sometimes it seems to run aground and to halt, sometimes it may seem on the point of capsizing in story waters, but once the tempest is over, it sails back out into the open. And that is the way it has always been from the beginning.
Other questions from those present. Was it difficult for Benedict XVI to deal with the 'legacy' of Papa Wojtyla and his great charism?
"The Lord asks something special from everyone. Papa Ratzinger has had the courage and the ability to just be himself, and I admire him for this," Don Alfred answered.
Snapshots of daily life. "In the morning I listen to news on the radio, and at breakfast, I transmit the most important news items to the Pope. He loves to talk during meals. Normally, other than myself and Don Georg, we also have the four lay sisters who take care of the household, and we talk about everyday happenings. In the evening, after supper, we watch TV news in Italian or in German".
A boy asks if the Pope is interested in football. Apparently, not really, but he hears of any interesting games from the secretaries, and Don Alfred indicates that he himself is not at all indifferent to football. In fact, during his visit, he was wearing a black scarf with white stripes identified with a Turin football team.
How did this jovial priest, sunny like his people on the island of Gozo [the other large island besides Malta in the nation-archipelago], come to be secretary to the Pope?
His story is like that of don Joe, don Joshua, don Maximilian and so many other Maltese priests we have known. The nation still flourishes with vocations, and Malta has always sent many priests as missionaries. As seminarians, almost all have to spend one season abroad, and then as priests, they must spend at least two years of ministry abroad.
Don Alfred was sent to a parish in Rome, where he continued his studies at a Pontifical University. Then he was employed for many years first at the Secretariat of State then in the Pontifical Household.
When Mons. Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki (don Mietek) - who had been an adjunct secretary to John Paul II and continued as such with Benedict XVI - was named a bishop in the Ukraine in 2007, don Alfred was called to take his place.
And what are the Pope's hobbies, another boy asked. "Well, first of all, it is not true that we have a cat at home, although Papa Benedetto loves animals a lot. They say that when he was a cardinal, he would stop on the streets to talk to stray cats. Someone asked him, 'Eminence, what language do you use with the cats? Italian or German?' And he answered, 'It doesn't matter - they understand your tone of voice'.
"Of course, the Pope is a passionate music lover. He is an excellent pianist. Sometimes, after supper, we can hear him play. And of course, there are his books, which fill up his study. It's a very simple place. All the book shelves and the desk he uses were those he had with him when he was a professor in Tuebingen".
Benedict XVI is 84, one month away from his 85th birthday, before which he will be travelling to Mexico and Cuba. Those who portray him as a sedentary Pope who has no contact with people are simply wrong.
Don Alfred says: "When he was a cardinal and he could move about freely without any escort, he went shopping and browsing in stores in his neighborhood, often stopping to talk to people. 'The things we could do when we both were more free,' the Pope joked once to Italian President Napolitano."
2013 P.S. About Mons. Gaenswein's 85th-birthday book for Benedict XVI, it has now been published in Italian. Earlier, Marie-Anne who contributes to Beatrice's website posted her translations into French of some of the chapters from the German original... I had been meaning to translate to English when February 11 disrupted the normalcy of my life... I will post the items soon...
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 18/03/2013 20:47]