Cardinal Julián Herranz publishes his
memoirs regarding Benedict XVI and Francis in his new book, "Two Popes,"
saying "they have inspired me with their virtues and honoured me with
their personal friendship."
Pope Francis wrote the preface in which he
thanks the Cardinal for his service to the Church.
“Dos Papa” (Two Popes) features the memoirs of Spanish Cardinal
Julián Herranz Casado and his experience in the service of Benedict XVI
and Francis, offering his own testimony of the Church's journey in
recent decades. With love for Mother Church and the Holy Father,
Cardinal Herranz writes about the moments of splendour and the
challenges faced by the successor of Peter.
Cardinal Julián Herranz is President emeritus of the Pontifical
Council for Legislative Texts and President emeritus of the Disciplinary
Commission of the Roman Curia.
In the preface of the book written by Pope Francis in his own
handwriting, the Pope thanks him for the "work and effort" of the book,
saying "I admire your memory and your youthful age." And recalling times
he shared with Cardinal Herranz, the Pope called him a "man of the
Church, a man with an ecclesial heart".
Pope Francis writes: "I am moved by his gesture, it leaves me
speechless. I did not expect it. I admire his memory and his youthful
age. And I recall an anecdote: after the Conclave in which Benedict XVI
was elected, you invited Cardinal Hummes and me. It was a lunch where we
were able to appreciate your love for the Church by listening to your
reflections. We came away edified and the comments among us were about
how we were inspired by your personality as a man of the Church, a man
with an ecclesial heart."
This 21-chapter memoir covers the pontificate of Benedict XVI to that
of Francis, but it also recalls other popes who influenced his life and
whom he also served. Among the topics he addresses in the book, he also
touches on some of the controversial ones, including: Vatileaks, sexual
abuse, reforms, the resignation of a pope, even hostility against the
Supreme Pontiff.
Cardinal Herranz writes on how he "had the unimaginable good fortune
to serve six popes in the Vatican, from that distant year of 1960 to the
present day. No less than six decades... and particularly novel with
the last two."
Two Popes: the face of Jesus of Nazareth
He illustrates in a particular way that "Benedict XVI and Francis
reflect, each in a unique way and in their application of the Second
Vatican Council, the kind face and joyful teaching of Jesus of Nazareth,
regardless of the supposed doctrinal differences, which some exaggerate
using opposing and extremist ideologies, or simply because of temporary
interests of a socio-political nature."
"I personally met the Archbishop of Munich, Joseph Ratzinger, in June
1977, as soon as he was named a Cardinal. In turn, my friendship with
Cardinal Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, began at the conclave of
2005, which elected Cardinal Ratzinger - Benedict XVI," the author
recalls. And he underscores in the same way how "the two popes have
inspired me with their virtues and honoured me with their personal
friendship and trust, more than I deserve and with moving gestures."
Benedict XVI like a Church Father
Cardinal Julián Herranz, describing Benedict XVI as a "Father of the
Church for the 21st century," notes that his personal characteristics
recall in both his "intellectual and pastoral dimension...the Church
Fathers who experienced the ecclesial and social events of the first
centuries of Christianity offering special doctrinal clarity and a
profound sense of pastoral responsibility."
The author also sees in Benedict XVI a universal pastor who
decisively confronted the very serious crime of the abuse of minors:
"Pope Benedict raised for the first time in the Holy See the need to
reconsider the canonical and pastoral judicial rules against these very
serious crimes, to facilitate their application and to avoid the
erroneous praxis followed until then."
Cardinal Herranza also notes how Benedict XVI was the first Pope who
"wanted to meet and listen to the victims of these crimes during his
pastoral journeys." He writes further, "with how much diligence and
tenacity first Cardinal Ratzinger and later Benedict XVI exercised
pastoral responsibility to highlight and heal this tremendous wound in
the souls of the victims and in all the People of God."
Closeness of the Magisterium of Benedict XVI and Francis
In his book "Two Popes", Cardinal Herranz also highlights the
closeness and continuity of the Magisterium of Benedict XVI with that of
Francis: "above all in the encyclicals Laudato si and Fratelli tutti,
Pope Francis reflects Benedict's sensitivity and concern. God the
Creator and Father is at the same time the one who gives theological
dignity to created nature and who makes us brothers and sisters".
This shows then "the Pope's tremendous sorrow in the face of the
'sacrilegious war' in Ukraine and the many others (in the world) that
make the ideology of 'cainism' diabolically present in the world,"
writes the Cardinal, mentioning Francis' great concern and dedication to
the search for peace.
Pope Francis and charity
From personal meetings with Pope Francis, as well as from the
exchange of personal letters, Cardinal Herranz remembers with emotion
the Pope showing God's love in a special way in the first days of his
pontificate when he wished to go to Lampedusa to accompany those
suffering following a shipwreck of migrants: "I personally gave
enthusiastic praise to the idea that his first pastoral journey - as of
one 'in love' - was not as a 'head of state' but as a 'vicar of Christ',
who gave priority to his service to the poor, who was going to 'suffer
together' with them in their pain and anguish of so many 'Christs'
scourged by the lack of peace and work."
He recalls also more recently the fervent prayer in St. Peter's
Square of Pope Francis when he led a prayer vigil for people suffering
from the pandemic in places all over the world.
In conclusion, Cardinal Herranz thanks the protagonists featured in
his book: "Benedict and Francis, Popes who are different and at the same
time close, with whom I have had the joy of working, receiving, out of
an excess of kindness on their part, moving experiences of friendship
and trust".
