The Vatican sought Wednesday (Feb. 5) to explain the absence of a key member of Pope Francis’ protocol team following the scandal over a book on priestly celibacy co-written by Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI.
The Vatican press office denied that Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, who works for both the reigning and the retired pope, had been officially suspended as head of Francis’ papal household over his role in the scandal.
It said his absence from Francis’ private and public audiences for the past several weeks was “due to an ordinary redistribution of the various commitments and duties of the prefect of the Papal Household.”
The press office noted that Gaenswein also was Benedict’s personal secretary.
The statement suggested the Holy See was trying to find an elegant way to justify Gaenswein’s unofficial removal from Francis’ team by saying he was dedicating himself more full time to Benedict’s needs.
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