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MARCH 1, 2021 1:06 PM UPDATED 18 HOURS AGO

Ex-pope Benedict chides 'fanatical' Catholics who reject his resignation

By Philip Pullella
2 MIN READ

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.

Benedict, now 93, in 2013 became the first pope in more than 600 years to resign instead of ruling for life, saying he no longer had the strength to govern the 1.3 billion-member Church.

Some hardline conservatives unhappy with the more liberal Pope Francis have often voiced doubts about whether Benedict stepped down willingly, even though he has said several times in the past eight years that he did.

“It was a difficult decision. 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.

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Benedict, who lives in a house in the Vatican gardens, said those who refuse to accept his resignation nursed “conspiracy theories” that he had been forced to quit because of scandals such as the leaking of some of his documents by his butler.

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