The Jesuit priest made the observation in an interview with Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian bishops, on the occasion of his upcoming 80th birthday, which he will celebrate on 29 August.

In the interview published on 22 August, the priest, who was also provincial superior of the Italian Jesuits and director of the Vatican Television Centre, recalled that he was able to accompany Benedict XVI "for almost his entire pontificate from 2006 until his resignation from the Petrine ministry in February of 2013″.

Lombardi stressed that Benedict XVI "is a scholarly man" and would define him as "a pope theologian with very clear ideas".

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Lombardi, who was Benedict's spokesman, denied Italian Archbishop Luigi Negri's claim that Benedict was forced to resign.

However according to Negri, Benedict's resignation was as a result of "tremendous pressure" being put upon him.

The Obama administration has been implicated in the pressures that forced his resignation.

Lombardi said Benedict must be taken at his word when he said he had stepped down "in full freedom and responsibility.

"Benedict XVI is a man who put the truth first. How can someone so blatantly contradict what he said and then solemnly reaffirmed?" Lombardi asked.

Despite Lombardi's clear rebuttal, Negri is sticking to his view.

"I am certain that the truth will emerge one day showing grave liability both inside and outside the Vatican," he said.

"It is no coincidence that in America, even on the basis of what has been published by Wikileaks, some Catholic groups have asked President Trump to open a commission of inquiry to investigate whether the administration of Barack Obama exerted pressure on Benedict." he said.

Negri believes "those responsible [for forcing Benedict's resignation] will be found out."

Source

• Breitbart
• LifeSite
• Image: OnePeterFive

Ernst von Freyberg is currently chairman of the Blohm+Voss Group, a Hamburg-based company that builds and repairs yachts and ocean liners.

The multilingual von Freyberg is active in the Knights of Malta, a lay Catholic religious order and a worldwide humanitarian network offering free medical care and other services. He is also a co-leader of an association that organises pilgrimages to Lourdes.

At the announcement of the appointment, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi was caught off-guard when a reported pointed out that the Blohm+Voss Group is part of a consortium that is currently building frigates for the German navy.

The firm's website also lists frigates, destroyers and patrol boats designed in the past for the navies of Nigeria, Argentina, Portugal and Germany.

Later a Vatican statement said von Freyberg had nothing to do with the military part of Blohm+Voss.

Von Freyberg replaces Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, who was forced out as president of the bank — formally known as the Institute for Religious Works — last May for incompetence.

He assumes the leadership of an institution that has been the focus of considerable controversy in recent months. European banking authorities have charged that the bank does not maintain adequate safeguards to prevent money-laundering.

In July, a European anti-money laundering committee said it failed to meet all its standards on fighting money-laundering, tax evasion and other financial crimes.

The report by Moneyval, a monitoring committee of the 47-nation Council of Europe, found the Vatican passed nine of 16 "key and core" aspects of its financial dealings.

Sources:

Vatican Radio

Catholic News Service

National Catholic Reporter

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said the pope took his decision "aware of the great problems the church faces today".

His decision showed "great courage" and "determination", Lombardi said.

Lombardi said it was Benedict's own personal decision made without any outside pressure. He ruled out depression or "uncertainty" as the cause of his resignation.

And he said the resignation was not due to any specific illness.

The Pope said that he would step down at 8:00 p.m. on February 28, Rome time.

• Watch video of announcement.
• Read full text of Benedicts resignation speech

According to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, Pope Benedict will return to being known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger once he has stepped down as pope. He will be addressed as his eminence or Cardinal Ratzinger.

Benedict says he wishes to continue to serve the Catholic church "through a life dedicated to prayer". He will live in a monastery within the Vatican.

Speculation about successor

Lombardi says there would be elections some time in March and he anticipated that there would be a new pope before Easter.

Many have already begun to speculate about who might succeed him. Experts suggest it will be a" Vatican Insider". Cardinal Angelo Scola, the archbishop of Milan and Cardinal Peter Turkson are among the names that have been suggested.

Click here to see a fuller a list of possible successors to Pope Benedict XVI

New Zealand Bishops react with surprise and understanding at news of Pope's resignation

It was with some sadness that New Zealand Catholic Bishops woke to the news of Pope Benedict XVI is to resign from his papacy at the end of the month.

"While we are sad that his papacy is coming to an end, we understand the humility, prayer and reflection that will have been behind this decision to step down owing to frailty," said Archbishop John Dew, President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference.

"We offer the Pope our assurance that we will continue to pray for him. We will also pray for our Cardinals who will, faithfully and prayerfully, elect a successor," Archbishop Dew said.

"His resignation while unusual, does reflect the pace and workload that this special ministry requires especially in our modern age. He will be thought of as a Pope who was faithful and humble in his papacy and in his decision to step down when age and frailty mean he is unable to continue," Archbishop Dew said.

"As a great theologian and writer he has at times expressed his desire to spend more time writing and in study, we hope that he has the opportunity to do this in retirement and continue to make a valuable contribution in this way,"

"The Pope is the shepherd of the Church around the world, this is a demanding and challenging ministry, we pray at this time for Pope Benedict's successor and for the future of the Catholic Church and its leadership." Archbishop Dew said.

Benedict's Legacy

The National Catholic reporter notes that "Benedict is regarded as among the most accomplished Catholic theologians of his generation, Benedict XVI was what church historians call a "teaching pope" as opposed to a governor. His passion was invested in his teaching documents, his speeches on foreign trips, his regular catechesis at the Vatican, and the three books on the life of Christ he published. This teaching often struck people as profound and surprisingly free of ideological edge."

The NCR says many observers believe four cornerstone speeches delivered by Benedict XVI — at Regensburg, Germany, in 2006; at the Collège des Bernardins in Paris in 2008; at Westminster Hall in London in 2010; and at the Bundestag in Germany in 2011 — will be remembered as masterpieces laying out the basis for a symbiosis among faith, reason and modernity.

Benedict was not a the charismatic figure like his predecessor John Paul II, however he still fared well on the public stage. His trips drew enthusiastic crowds, and turnout at his public audiences actually exceeded John Paul's numbers.

He also endured, and some times created, a number of crises.

In 2011, Italian journalists Andrea Tornielli and Paolo Rodari published a 300-page book documenting the most notorious crises during the Benedict years, including:

• The massive sexual abuse scandals,
• Benedict XVI's decision in 2007 to dust off the old Latin Mass.
• Lifting the excommunications of four traditionalist bishops in 2009, including one who denied that the Nazis ever used gas chambers and claimed the historical evidence is "hugely against" Adolf Hitler being responsible for the death of 6 million Jews. The affair brought an anguished personal letter from Benedict to the bishops of the world apologizing for the way it was handled.
• Comments made by Benedict aboard the papal plane to Africa in 2009 to the effect that condoms make AIDS worse.

Source

• The National Catholic Reporter
• The Guardian
• CNN
• CNN
• NZCBC
• Image: Screen Shot - CNN

A report in the online edition of the German newspaper Die Welt, republished in the Italian daily La Repubblica, claimed the involvement of the three officials in the Vatileaks scandal was uncovered by an investigative commission of cardinals, led by Cardinal Julian Herranz of Spain.

The officials are Italian Cardinal Paolo Sardi, Patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta; German Bishop Josef Clemens, secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity; and a German laywoman, Ingrid Stampa, who is Pope Benedict's private secretary and housekeeper.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said dozens of Vatican officials have been questioned about the leaked documents, but "being called before a commission in the course of its investigations in no ways means that a person is a suspect".

He said the media reports "seriously damage the honour of the people concerned, who have served the Holy Father faithfully for many years".

The reports claimed that the three officials had been dismissed from office because of their involvement in the Vatileaks scandal.

In fact, said Father Lombardi, Bishop Clemens and Ingrid Stampa remain in their posts, and Cardinal Sardi completed his service at the Secretariat of State when he reached the age of 75.

In the meantime, Pope Benedict's personal assistant Paolo Gabriele — who was arrested in May for possessing confidential papal documents — has been released from custody. He will remain under house arrest with his family in the Vatican pending his trial on a charge of aggravated theft.

Gabriele has written to the Pope, expressing "sorrow and contrition" for stealing the documents and asking to be pardoned.

If the Pope grants a pardon, this would avoid a trial and the possibility of a prison sentence of up to six years.

Sources:

Catholic News Agency

Vatican Information Service

Daily Telegraph

Image: Damir Jelic