This archive report was first published on 14 January 2020.
On January 14, 2020, former Pope Benedict XVI made a surprising request to remove his name from a book on priestly celibacy, sparking controversy within the Catholic Church.
According to his personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, the former pope had asked him to contact Cardinal Robert Sarah, the principal author of the book, to request that the publishers remove Benedict's name from the cover, introduction, and conclusion.
The book, which explores the issue of priestly celibacy, had drawn criticism from some Roman Catholic scholars who felt that Benedict's comments risked destabilizing the reigning Pope Francis.
