For Popes, meeting the press has always been risky business

[Michie]

ROME – Pop(e) Quiz: Which of the following modern pontiffs gave a high-profile interview to a journalist on extremely sensitive subjects, the result of which was controversy inside and outside the Catholic Church, compelling Vatican officials and spokespersons to issue ‘clarifications’ which did relatively little to calm the waters?

• A) Pope Leo XIII
• B) Pope Paul VI
• C) Pope John Paul II
• D) Pope Benedict XVI
• E) Pope Francis
• F) All of the Above

The correct answer, as discerning readers no doubt already have surmised, is “F.” While recent events may invite the impression that contretemps over papal interviews are a defining feature of the Francis papacy, in fact they have a much deeper pedigree.

What’s sparked the latest round of controversy is the new interview book El Sucesor with Spanish journalist Javier Martínez-Brocal, dedicated to the relationship between Francis and his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, which went on sale April 3.

As Italian journalist Massimo Gramellini put it, reading the book is a bit like watching reality TV – think “Real Housewives of Vatican City.” Among other things, the pope openly dishes on the inner details of two conclaves, and he cattily lashes out at Benedict’s top aide, German Archbishop Georg Gänswein, claiming he lacks “nobility and humanity” for the way in which Gänswein allegedly tried to put the two popes at odds.

Continued below.

For Popes, meeting the press has always been risky business

While recent events may invite the impression that contretemps over papal interviews are a defining feature of the Francis papacy, in fact they have a much deeper pedigree.

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