VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Former pope Benedict has chided conservative Roman Catholics who have not accepted his decision to resign as "fanatical", telling them that there is only one pope and it is Francis. But it was a fully conscious choice and I think I did well (to resign)," he told Italy's Corriere della Sera in a interview published on Monday. "They don't want to believe that it was a conscious choice," he said. Apparently addressing those who still look up to him as the real pope and are hostile to Francis, Benedict said: "There is only one pope." The presence in the Vatican of both a pope and a former pontiff with the title "pope emeritus", also wearing white, has irritated some Catholics.

Source: The Star March 01, 2021 18:36 UTC