In an exclusive interview with EWTN News, Pope Benedict XVI\u2019s former secretary said \u201cnormality is slowly returning\u201d to the Vatican with Pope Leo XIV.<\/p>\n
Exclusive interview: “Normality” returns to the Vatican under Pope Leo.<\/p>\n
Archbishop Georg G\u00e4nswein says last year\u2019s change of popes has brought a \u201cwhole new positive dimension\u201d to the Vatican.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbove all, there has been a change for the better in the atmosphere\u201d with Pope Leo XIV, the Vatican\u2019s nuncio to the Baltic states and Pope Benedict XVI\u2019s former secretary told Rudolf Gehrig of EWTN News during a Jan. 20 interview in Vilnius, Lithuania.<\/p>\n
G\u00e4nswein said he met Leo twice last year, most recently in mid-December.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth meetings went very, very well. And the intervening period has made it very clear to me that \u2014 to put it somewhat idiosyncratically \u2014 normality is slowly returning,\u201d he said, calling it a sign for him that \u201cfaith and the Holy Spirit are indeed at work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI used the term normalization. For me, it is important to see that Pope Leo has simply emphasized some matters that are not new but which have been completely overlooked in recent years.\u201d<\/p>\n
G\u00e4nswein has been nuncio to Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, based out of Vilnius, since 2024. The archbishop\u2019s diplomatic post follows 17 years as the personal secretary of Pope Benedict XVI and 11 years as the Vatican\u2019s prefect of the Papal Household.<\/p>\n
The nuncio, originally from Germany, also praised Leo\u2019s \u201cclear line when it comes to proclaiming the faith,\u201d which he does \u201cjoyfully and convincingly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you read his catechesis or sermons, you can sense that this is a man who lives and proclaims the faith with an Augustinian spirit,\u201d G\u00e4nswein said.<\/p>\n
The archbishop also addressed the Synodal Way in Germany, also known as the Synodal Path, which is set to hold its sixth and final assembly starting Jan. 29.<\/p>\n
G\u00e4nswein expressed concern that the process will lead to deeper division in society and the Church, and underlined that any possible reforms must always adhere to established Church teaching.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone who has followed the events surrounding the Synodal Path from the beginning to the present day can see one important thing, namely that a number of the demands of the Synodal Path lead away from the faith,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no doubt that there is indeed a need to change and reform certain things here and there. I agree with that,\u201d the nuncio said. \u201cHowever, what has been shown so far on the Synodal Path is, for me, clear evidence that this is not about a return to a deepening of the faith but about a watering down of the faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said any changes cannot differ from the Catholic Church\u2019s position on morality, ethics, the sacramental structure of the Church, or the official authority of bishops.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can only hope and pray that this wrong path will simply come to an end soon,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
This article was originally published on EWTN News.<\/p>\n