Pope Francis inherited box of scandal-related documents from predecessor
What's the story
In his newly published autobiography, Spera (Hope), Pope Francis has revealed that he received a "large white box" of documents related to various scandals within the Catholic Church from his predecessor, Benedict XVI. The handover took place during a rare in-person transition after Benedict's surprise resignation in 2013. The Pope visited Benedict at Castel Gandolfo soon after his election, where he was handed the box containing documents related to "the most difficult and painful situations."
Unspecified contents
Pope Francis continues predecessor's path, details undisclosed
Benedict XVI, who resigned because of failing health in February 2013, told Francis during the handover, "I have arrived this far, taken these actions, removed these people. Now it's your turn." However, Pope Francis doesn't reveal specific details of the contents of the box or any particular scandals addressed by either pontiff in his book. Benedict's tenure was marred by sexual abuse scandals and further sullied by the 'Vatileaks' scandal in its last year.
Historic publication
Pope Francis's autobiography: A 1st for papal literature
The autobiography, Spera (Hope), is the first time Pope Francis has publicly acknowledged the existence of the white box. Published by Italian publisher Mondadori and co-written with Italian author Carlo Musso, it is the first autobiography by a pope. In his book, Francis also shares insights into his conclave experience and reflects on women's roles within the Church. Pope Francis stresses the immediate requirement of more women in ecclesiastical life, saying, "The Church is female - it is not male."
Gender equality
Pope Francis advocates for greater female involvement in Church
He dismisses women becoming priests but condemns the church's previous "masculinization." "The church therefore needs to be demasculinized—while knowing, at the same time, that to masculinize women would be neither human nor Christian, since the other great sin is certainly clericalism," he wrote. The pope contends that new methods and criteria must be determined to ensure "women are more fully involved and play a key role in the various spheres of social and ecclesiastical life."
Near miss
Pope Francis recounts escape from double suicide bombing
Apart from addressing church scandals and gender issues, Pope Francis also shares a near-death experience in his autobiography. He narrowly escaped a double suicide bombing during a 2021 visit to Iraq, with British intelligence and Iraqi police foiling the attempts on his life. "A woman packed with explosives, a young kamikaze, was heading to Mosul to blow herself up..And a van had also set off at full speed with the same intent," an excerpt from his book read.