Pope Francis reveals box of documents on church’s ‘dark dealings’ – POLITICO Europe
Pontiff writes of “evil committed by certain priests” in book released Tuesday. Pope Francis was handed a “large white box” full of documents on “abuse” and “dark dealings” in the Catholic Church over a decade ago when he took over from his predecessor.The pope on Tuesday published his autobiography, Spera (Hope), written with the Italian author Carlo Musso. Publisher Mondadori said it was the first time a sitting pope has written such a personal chronicle.A new pope customarily takes over only on the death of his predecessor, but Benedict XVI’s unprecedented 2013 resignation allowed him to hand over to Francis in person. In the book, Francis recounts visiting Pope Benedict at Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer palace. “He gave me a large white box,” Francis writes. “Documents relating to the most difficult and painful situations. Cases of abuse, corruption, dark dealings, wrongdoings.”“Everything is in here,” Francis recalls being told; “now it’s your turn” to deal with it.In the book the pope writes that he has felt “called to take responsibility for all the evil committed by certain priests,” CNN reported.A photograph of the pair sitting with a white box between them fuelled speculation at the time.Francis, previously known as Jorge Bergoglio, uses the new book to tell the story of his youth in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he grew up in a large family and was passionate about football and the tango. He admits getting into a fight as a young man with a fellow student who “even lost his senses” after hitting his head when thrown to the ground, and insists that even as leader of the church he still commits “mistakes and sins.”“I feel I have a reputation I do not deserve, a public esteem of which I am not worthy,” Francis writes. “This, beyond doubt, is my strongest sentiment.”The memoir tells of key moments in his papacy, including the two assassination attempts he faced during a 2021 visit to Iraq, as revealed last month in an excerpt in Italian daily Corriere delle Sera. PM says her relationship with U.S. president-elect is “very solid” and insists his recent incendiary remarks flow from a “peace-through-strength” approach.“I have certainly found interesting the path I’ve taken over the last three years in these POLITICO awards,” Italian prime minister says. News of the talks comes shortly after the Italian PM visited President-elect Donald Trump in Florida. The Italian prime minister flew to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday for an informal meeting.
Source: https://www.politico.eu/article/pope-francis-reveals-box-documents-catholic-church-dark-dealings/
