The Interview that was never..
Unofficial English translation:
by Aldo Maria Valli
That peculiar “interview” of Benedict in the Corriere della Sera
I rarely deal with the work of other newspapers and journalists, but I make an exception for the singular “interview” that Benedict XVI allegedly granted to the Corriere della Sera.
Why do I write “interview” in quotes and use the conditional?
Simple: because if you read the article, you can see that the interview is not. Massimo Franco and the editor of Corriere visit Benedict XVI and bring him (they had already done so on another occasion) two cartoons by Giannelli. The elderly pope emeritus (also due to his current state of debilitation) responds to some solicitations with short jokes (“the voice is a breath, it comes and goes” “), thanks and greets. That’s all. Interviews are another thing.
And why do I say that the interview, admitted and not granted that it is an interview, is unique?
Simple: because words and contents do not seem to belong to the vocabulary and style of Joseph Ratzinger.
The Ratzinger I know would never have used the word “fanatics” to define friends who are not happy with his renunciation of the pontificate. Nor would he ever have allowed himself to intervene in Italian affairs hoping that Draghi, “highly esteemed even in Germany”, could “resolve the crisis”.
In the same way, Ratzinger would never have allowed himself to attribute to the American President Biden a conviction (“personally he is against abortion”) and then comment in a superficial and approximate way that, however, “as president he tends to present himself in continuity with the line of the Democratic Party ”. The same goes for the other truly incredible affirmation concerning Biden, namely that “we have not yet fully understood his position on gender politics”.
And then why that plural? “We have”? Was the royal We suddenly recovered?
Regarding the words “There are not two popes, the pope is only one”, it seems to me frankly that they do not constitute news. Ratzinger has said this many times. We would have had a scoop if Ratzinger had said “the only pope is Bergoglio and I am no longer one”. But he never said that and he still doesn’t say it.
The real questions to ask Benedict XVI would have been others. For example: “Your Holiness, excuse us, you dress in white and bless like a pope emeritus, but how did you come up with such a monstrum? How was she able to abandon the flock to the ferocity of the wolves? You say you have a clear conscience, but don’t you feel the bewilderment and suffering of so many of the flock? ”. Then yes we would have had an interview.
And then here is Vatican News, the official Vatican news agency, owner with great prominence: “Ratzinger repeats: ‘There are no two popes'”. A game that is becoming cloying.
Bold Face added by FromRome.Info editor.
