This was reported by the newspaper "Corriere della Sera" at the weekend. The Baltic nunciature is located in Lithuania and also includes Estonia and Latvia.

The post of Vatican ambassador there is currently vacant. On 11 March, Pope Francis transferred his nuncio in Lithuania, Archbishop Petar Rajic, to Italy.

Neither the Vatican nor Gänswein himself have yet commented on the speculation.

Last week, however, the Argentinian daily newspaper "La Nacion" reported on a possible new post for the 67-year-old German. It was said that Gänswein would become Apostolic Nuncio at a location yet to be named.

The Holy See will officially announce the appointment "soon".

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The move follows tensions between Archbishop Gänswein and Pope Francis (pictured together), marked by the former's desire for a new role in Rome following Benedict's death.

Elisabetta Piqué, correspondent for La Nacion, reported the news based on credible sources within the Vatican.

"Notwithstanding the tensions between the two" Piqué reported, "Pope Francis has decided to clean the slate and give a new start and assignment to the former private secretary of Benedict, the German archbishop Georg Gänswein, who will soon be designated as nuncio in some part of the world."

The move comes despite Archbishop Gänswein's expression of discomfort - during a meeting with Pope Francis last December - at being without a role in the Church.

Commitment to mercy and reconciliation

The appointment has surprised many, considering the Archbishop's previous publication in which he criticised Pope Francis.

"Woah. The Pope really does proclaim the God of Second Chances" writes papal biographer Austen Ivereigh on X.

The Archbishop's book "Who Believes Is Not Alone: My Life Beside Benedict XVI" allegedly reveals a lack of trustworthiness and loyalty. In response to this publication and other incidents, Pope Francis suspended him from his role as prefect of the papal household in 2020.

In El Sucesor (a recent Spanish-language interview book), Francis revealed that Benedict's secretary "at times made difficulties for me".

Francis said that, having observed the influential role that Benedict's collaborators played, he decided "to dissolve the papal secretariat", the position Archbishop Gänswein had held. Francis added "it is not good to have an all-powerful secretary".

Despite speculations about his future role within the Roman Curia, Archbishop Gänswein has now been assigned to a nunciature.

This unexpected move by Pope Francis underscores his commitment to mercy and reconciliation within the Catholic Church, even amidst past tensions.

The Vatican has yet to announce Archbishop Gänswein's new appointment officially.

Sources

America Magazine

National Catholic Register

CathNews New Zealand

X

The German news agency, Katholisch.de, reported April 20 that Gänswein has been in isolation since April 11, a time period that included all of the Easter Triduum and Benedict XVI's 95th birthday.

Benedict XVI has tested negative for COVID-19, according to Gänswein, as have all other residents of the Mater Ecclesiae monastery, the retired pope's residence inside of Vatican City.

While the 65-year-old personal secretary was unable to join the pope emeritus in celebrating his 95th birthday on Holy Saturday, Pope Francis paid a visit to Benedict XVI's residence ahead of his birthday on April 13.

Gänswein has said that both he and Benedict XVI have received three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Source: CNA

The pope emeritus' private secretary made the remark in a nine-page interview in the December edition of the German publication Vatican-magazin.

The Vatican began administering doses of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine in January and confirmed in February that the pope emeritus had received the second dose of the vaccine. It began to administer the third dose in October.

Gänswein was asked about Catholic opposition to coronavirus vaccines, some of which were produced using cell lines from aborted fetuses.

His interviewer said that Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the controversial former apostolic nuncio to the United States, had criticized the Vatican for promoting a vaccination campaign.

Gänswein said that he could not understand the criticisms.

Gänswein acknowledged that "every vaccination has advantages and disadvantages." But he recalled that Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, the president of the Italian bishops' conference, became seriously ill after contracting COVID-19 and afterward cautioned "against any form of ideological crusade against vaccination."

"One must not force anyone to vaccinate, that is quite clear. But one should appeal to the conscience," Gänswein commented.

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"Benedict XVI, the Pope Emeritus," directed by Andrés Garrigó, will be released April 16 by Goya Productions.

The film will focus on Benedict's papacy, and his time as prefect of Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

"At that time he had to deal with such crises as Liberation Theology in its Marxist version with its affinity to guerrilla warfare, and the cases of pedophilia that were beginning to surface then. Elected in 2005, Benedict is faced with two immense tasks: defending Catholic doctrine from the 'dictatorship of relativism' on the outside and reforming the Church from within, starting with the confusing structure of Vatican finances," the filmmaker stated.

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In an interview with the German newspaper Südkurier, Archbishop Gänswein is reported to have said that Benedict XVI's "illness is subsiding" and that his medication has been reduced.

Benedict XVI has been suffering from facial shingles, a bacterial infection of the skin which causes a painful, red rash. "The pain started after the death of his brother," Gänswein told Südkurier.

"Whilst very unpleasant and painful, the illness was not life-threatening," the archbishop said in the article published Aug. 9.

"This is pain that I do not wish for my worst enemy," Gänswein said. Read more

Pope Francis has finally lost his patience and gotten rid of Archbishop Georg Ganswein as prefect of the Papal Household.

According to the German weekly, Die Tagespost, the pope put the 63-year-old on "indefinite administrative leave."

He did so, the paper said, because of the German prefect's involvement in a controversial book that Benedict XVI co-authored with Cardinal Robert Sarah.

It was a slim volume that most people saw as a warning to Francis, that he dare not even consider allowing the ordination of married priests.

Ganswein, who lives with Benedict and is his longtime personal secretary, was seen - rightly or wrongly - as the man ultimately responsible for dragging the retired pope into the book project.

Of course, Pope Francis did not officially sack the German archbishop. He could hardly do so, given Ganswein's close relationship to Benedict. That would shatter the myth that the former pope and current pope are in perfect sync and harmony.

They are not. The truer reality is that these two men in white have been living respectfully towards each other under an unwritten (and unspoken) non-aggression treaty. Firing the man some call "Gorgeous George" would fuel speculation that this pact has been annulled.

A Kremlin-style purge

The Vatican's spokespersons have been embarrassed by the media's reaction to the sideling of Ganswein. The Holy See Press Office explained that there had simply been "an ordinary redistribution" of the prefect's "various commitments and duties."

It actually looked suspiciously more like a purge, according to Italian colleague Francesco Peloso, who described the press office's explanation as reminiscent of the "golden years of the Kremlin."

So what is really going on here?

The Tagespost article, which first broke the news of Ganswein's administrative leave, seems extremely credible for no other reason than the fact that the politically conservative paper is close to Benedict XVI and his inner circle (i.e. his private secretary). Last December the former pope launched something called, "The Tagespost School for Catholic Journalism."

In its recent article, the paper said Ganswein would now be able to devote all his energies to helping the 92-year-old Benedict who is in declining health. This has led to further speculation that the former pope is now in the last stage of his earthly life.

We do not know for sure, but it is possible. One Italian newspaper gave further credence to that by reporting that the German archbishop has just been assigned a new apartment inside the Vatican.

Obviously, he will need another place to live once Benedict has died.

What's next for "Don Giorgio"?

There have been rumours over the past several months that, once the new constitution for the reformed Roman Curia is published (likely within the next few months), Ganswein would be transferred to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

He would replace the current secretary, Archbishop Marcello Bartolucci, who is already past the retirement age of 75.

That was before the kerfuffle over the Sarah-Benedict book.

But where else could Francis assign him? It is inconceivable that he would send Gänswein back to Germany to head a diocese since there has been vocal resistance from the priests and people there every time the possibility has been raised.

Parking "Don Giorgio" at a desk job in Rome looks to be about the best alternative. It's hard to imagine that he'd voluntarily seek to return to parish ministry, of which he has only limited experience or volunteer to serve in the missions.

This was not supposed to happen

Ironically, it was Benedict XVI who caused this predicament.

He did so quite unintentionally. In fact, he believed he had done everything possible to ensure his personal secretary would hold important posts the rest of his priestly life, perhaps even rising to the rank of cardinal.

Of course, that is still possible. But only if there is a backlash to Francis' pontificate at the next conclave (or the one after that) and a loyalist to Benedict is elected.

And that's where Ganswein future has always rested. Continue reading

The Holy See Press Office says the long-time secretary of emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has had his duties as prefect of the papal household "reallocated to others".

It is downplaying 63-year-old Georg Gänswein's absence from several papal audiences over the past few weeks.

It describes the change as "an ordinary redistribution of the various commitments and duties of the prefect of the papal household who, as you know, is also the personal secretary of the pope emeritus,".

Gänswein, who is from Germany, has been the emeritus pope's personal secretary since before Benedict became pope.

Several rumours are circulating about the reasons for his apparent sidelining from his papal household duties.

Some say Francis has given him leave of absence to devote full-time attention to Benedict. Some favouring this view are also speculating that the former pope's health is worsening.

Others are speculating that that Francis relieved Gänswein of his official Vatican duties because of his role in the publication of the recent book by Benedict XVI and Cardinal Robert Sarah, head of the Vatican's liturgy office.

Benedict contributed to an essay insisting on the necessity of priestly celibacy, that was written primarily by Cardinal Sarah.

The book's January 2020 release date coincided with considerations Pope Francis is weighing concerning whether to allow married priests in the Amazon.

Benedict's involvement is being seen as an attempt to influence Francis on this issue.

Many observers say Benedict's participation could not have happened without Gänswein's involvement.

Following the controversy about his involvement with the book, Gänswein phoned several German news agencies JBenedict had requested that his name be removed as co-author of the book, its introduction and its conclusion.

Although the German newspaper Die Tagespost has reported that Pope Francis placed Gänswein on an "indefinite leave" following the scandal over the book, the Vatican is denying this.

"No leave, we have no information in that sense," the Vatican press office says.

Gänswein hasn't been seen at Francis's general audiences since15 January, the day the Sarah-Benedict book was officially released.

Source

• La Croix
• National Catholic Register

Archbishop Georg Gänswein, who is the prefect of the papal household for Pope Francis, says Pope-emeritus Benedict "has not commented" on an 11-page letter from Viganò, which was released by the press on 25 August.

The letter alleges Benedict placed sanctions on McCarrick in 2008 or 2009 that barred McCarrick from celebrating Mass publicly or traveling, and ordered him to live a life of prayer and penance.

The National Catholic Register (NCR), one of two outlets that originally published Viganò's letter, said in its 25 August article that it had "independently confirmed that the allegations against McCarrick were certainly known to Benedict."

Three days later, the New York Times reported that one of the people Viganò consulted with while writing his statement was US lawyer Timothy Busch.

Busch is on the board of governors of EWTN, which owns NCR.

Busch told the Times that NCR editors "had personally assured him that the former pope, Benedict XVI, had confirmed Archbishop Viganò's account."

Gänswein says any reports that Benedict had confirmed parts of Viganò's statement "lack any foundation."

Claims about Benedict's "sanctions' against McCarrick are also contradicted by historical records.

These include, for example, McCarrick being seen celebrating numerous public Masses throughout Benedict's papacy and continuing to travel around the world until June this year.

That was when the Vatican announced it had ordered his removal from ministry over an accusation of abuse that had been deemed credible.

Since the release of Viganò's statement, numerous photos have emerged of McCarrick at the Vatican after 2009, including one of him greeting Benedict on 28 February 2013, the day he renounced the papacy.

Source

• Die Tagespost
• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: Zimbio

In fact, he isn't dying. The report is "pure invention," Benedict's personal secretary Archbishop Georg Ganswein says.

Ganswein is also alleged to have said Benedict was "like a candle that fades slowly".

"He is serene, at peace with God, with himself and the world," the fake report that made its way into many media outlets continues.

"He can no longer walk without help and can no longer celebrate Mass. Please pray for our beloved Pope Benedict XVI."

In a media interview, Ganswein refuted the rumours.

"I have received in the last two days many messages that refer to this note, and people are worried.

"It is false and wrong, and I would like to know who the author of this is."

Ganswein says Benedict's brother was at the Vatican to visit him last week. "Both had a good time" during the week-long visit.

Earlier this month a Coptic Catholic bishop of Egypt said Benedict is now very weak at age 90, but still "aware of everything".

Source

• The Independent
• Christian Today
• Image: Catholic World Report

The reports originated after Gänswein read a message from Benedict at last week's funeral of German Cardinal Joachim Meisner.

In the message, Benedict alluded to the Church being near "capsizing," which Gänswein says is a familiar image in his writing.

"The emeritus pope was deliberately exploited, he wasn't alluding to anything specific with that phrase, but talking about the situation of the Church of today and that of the past as a boat that doesn't sail in calm waters. Francis also says this." Read more

The prefect of the Pontifical Household for both popes, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, said this to a German television station.

Archbishop Ganswein, who is also Benedict's secretary, said the retired Pope wrote the commentary at Pope Francis's request.

"When Father Spadaro (the director of La Civilta Cattolica) delivered the first copy of this interview, (Pope) Francis gave it to me and asked that I take it to Benedict," said Archbishop Ganswein.

"Look, the first page after the index is blank," Pope Francis reportedly told him, saying that Benedict "should write down all the criticism that comes to mind and afterwards give it to me".

In the interview, published in September last year, Pope Francis presented his vision of the Church as a field hospital after battle, needing to heal wounds.

He warned that the Church has locked itself up in small-minded rules.

Pope Francis also said that "We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods."

These things had to be spoken of in a context, he said.

Archbishop Ganswein said Benedict delivered four pages in response to the Pope's request.

"He did his homework," the archbishop said of the former pontiff.

"He read it and responded to the request of his successor, offering some reflections and some observations about certain statements or questions which he thought could perhaps be developed later on another occasion."

What Benedict wrote has not been revealed.

Archbishop Ganswein also admitted to favouring candidates other than Francis in last year's papal conclave.

"Well, yes, as I had favoured other candidates - I was wrong - but then so were other people," he said.

Sources

• Catholic News Agency
• The Tablet
• America Magazine
• Image: The Guardian

The archbishop said he was aware of Benedict's intentions well in advance of the public announcement of his resignation.

He said that he argued against resignation, but the Pontiff "was not to be shaken" and believed his physical decline made it impossible to fulfill the responsibilities of the Petrine office.

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