Benedict XVI in retirement: 'I read, I pray. I'm fine.'
June 06, 2013
“I’m fine. I live like a monk,” Benedict XVI told an old German friend who visited him recently at his new residence in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery on the Vatican grounds.
Manfred Lutz, a German scholar who is a member of the Pontifical Council for the Laity and the Pontifical Academy for Life, told Bild Zeitung that he found the retired Pontiff “physically weaker and a bit more stooped” than a few months earlier, but still mentally alert and cheerful. He said that the Pope-emeritus found himself thoroughly in accord with the theological statements of Pope Francis.
Benedict XVI described his current life as quiet and relaxed. “I read, I pray. I’m fine,” he said.
The Italian site Libero, perhaps intending to stir up controversy, wondered whether Benedict’s statement that he agreed with Pope Francis on theological matters could hint that he disagreed with his successor on other issues. But the statement by the former Pontiff—which was relayed by Lutz rather than given in Benedict's own words—contained no such indication.
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Further information:
- Benedict XVI: 'I'm fine. I live like a monk' (Rome Reports)
- Il Papa emerito: d'accordo con Francesco dal punto di vista teologico. Investitura o invasione di campo? (Libero)
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