Aboard the papal plane: Pope Francis has accused some of his critics of taking advantage of retired Pope Benedict XVI’s death to score ideological points in the latest salvo in the partisan divide of the Catholic Church.

During an airborne news conference returning from South Sudan, Francis was asked about the criticism that accelerated after the December 31 death of Benedict, who lived in the Vatican as an emeritus pope alongside Francis for the first 10 years of his pontificate.

Pope Francis, left, embraces Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, at the Vatican in 2017.Credit:AP

In the days and weeks after his death, Benedict’s longtime secretary and some conservative cardinals came out with books, interviews and memos criticising Francis’ papacy. The commentary had the effect of pitting the recently departed former pope, who remained a point of reference for conservatives and traditionalists, against the current pope.

Francis insisted that rumours of differences with Benedict, or that Benedict was bitter about some decisions he had taken, were false and that the two consulted frequently and were in agreement.

“I think Benedict’s death was instrumentalised,” Francis said. “People wanted to score points for their own side. And the people who instrumentalise such a good person, so close to God, I would almost say … those people don’t have ethics, they are people who belong to a party, not to the church.”

To drive home the point that Benedict was above such partisanship, Francis recalled how the emeritus pope handled a complaint that he had received against Francis over his support for legal protections for same-sex partnerships.

Pope Francis in Juba during his tour of South Sudan.Credit:AP

When he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio supported Argentine legislation that would allow people in stable relationships, including same-sex unions, to enjoy inheritance and other rights. He backed such legislation as an alternative to Argentine proposals to legalise gay marriage, which the Catholic Church opposes.

Bergoglio’s position was known at the time but he articulated it publicly during a 2019 interview with Mexican broadcaster Televisa.

Francis revealed on Sunday that someone who fancied himself “a great theologian” had filed a complaint with Benedict about Francis’ position but that the emeritus pope “didn’t get scared”.

“He called four top-notch cardinal theologians and said, ‘Explain this to me.’”

“They explained it to him, and that’s how the story ended,” Francis said. “It’s an anecdote to show how Pope Benedict moved when there was a complaint.”

Francis also spoke out on Sunday to denounce criminalisation of homosexuality, saying gay people should be welcomed by their churches in a join statement with the head of the Anglican Communion and the top Presbyterian minister.

The three Christian leaders spoke out on LGBTQ rights during an unprecedented joint airborne news conference returning home from South Sudan, where they took part in a three-day ecumenical pilgrimage to try to nudge the young country’s peace process forward.

They were asked about Francis’ recent comments to The Associated Press, in which he declared that laws that criminalise gay people were “unjust” and that “being homosexual is not a crime”.

South Sudan is one of 67 countries that criminalises homosexuality, 11 of them with the death penalty. LGBTQ advocates say even where such laws are not applied, they contribute to a climate of harassment, discrimination and violence.

Francis referred his January 24 comments to the AP and repeated that such laws are “unjust”. He also repeated previous comments that parents should never throw their gay children out of the house.

“To condemn someone like this is a sin,” he said. “Criminalising people with homosexual tendencies is an injustice.”

“People with homosexual tendencies are children of God. God loves them. God accompanies them,” he added.

AP

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