Archbishop Georg Gänswein would like to see a beatification process opened for the late Pope Benedict XVI (2005-2013).
"Personally, of course, I very much hope that such a process will be opened," said Benedict's former private secretary and current Apostolic Nuncio in the Baltic States in an interview with the television station "K-TV".
According to the broadcaster, Gänswein also emphasised the central element of Benedict's understanding of faith in the interview. A key word here is "joy". For the German Pope, faith was the source and measure of joy. If faith does not lead to joy, "something is not quite right with the life of faith.
Ratzinger, Benedict XVI, is a theologian of joy," said Gänswein, who also emphasised the importance of continuity in faith: "We must not cut away at the substance; rather, we must allow ourselves to be shaped by the Lord, by the faith of the Church."
Extraordinary rite: back to Benedict's "wise regulation"
With a view to the future of the so-called extraordinary rite (Traditional Latin Mass), Gänswein argued, according to the broadcaster, in favour of overcoming tensions and disagreements that have arisen within the Church following Pope Francis' apostolic letter "Traditionis custodes" by returning to the line of Benedict XVI: "I believe that Pope Benedict's wise regulation is the right path - and this path should be continued without difficulty, without restriction."
He could only hope that Pope Leo XIV would continue the pacification of this thorny problem in this way.
According to K-TV, the programme "Archbishop Gänswein Exclusive - Between Benedict and the Baltic States (2)" will be broadcast this Sunday at 20:15. The programme will also be available on YouTube.