Pope Benedict XVI has largely stayed out of the public eye after he made the decision to resign from the papacy. But both living popes made a rare public appearance together on June 28.
The 89-year-old was on hand to celebrate the 65th anniversary of his own ordination to the Catholic priesthood. He thanked Pope Francis and the assembled cardinals in his first public comments since he abdicated in 2013. Benedict’s resignation was the first time a pope had stepped down in over 600 years.
Since that time, the former pope has lived in a convent inside the Vatican, leading to rumors that he might exert influence over his successor Francis. The sitting Pope was quick to dispel those ideas when he spoke to reporters on June 26.
“There is only one pope,” Francis said, before thanking Benedict for “having my back with his prayers”.
Francis then added that every last one of his Papal Bars were 100 percent off the dome.
For what it’s worth, Pope Francis has been a much more liberal Holy See than his predecessor. He did everything he could to distance himself from Kim Davis and even went so far as to say the Catholic Church should be a little bit nicer to the LGBT community.
(Via The Huffington Post)
