Andrea Tornielli interviews Msgr. Gänswein

The reliable Andrea Tornielli of the Italian daily Il Giornale has an exclusive interview with the Holy Father’s segretario particolare Msgr. Georg Gänswein.

Here are the highlights.

• During his vacation, the Pope is reading, writing, taking walks, playing the piano, listening to Classical music, and in the evening watching the news.  He is playing Mozart, Chopin, Schubert, others.
• Benedict brought a suitcase of books with him and is working on the second part of Jesus of Nazareth.
• The Pope is working on an encyclical.
• Benedict remains a bit surprised by the great affection people show him, but he has started to get used to it.  He never seeks applause.
• The Secretary of State is keeping the Pope up to date on happenings around the world.  They have all the necessary means of communication at hand.

Here is the section about the Motu Proprio

Q: Is the Pope concerned about some of the negative reactions with which the "Motu Proprio" was received?

"Following closely the press summaries and public reactions to the ‘Motu Proprio’ I noticed with a little bit of surprise, that there really weren’t any negative reactions.  I don’t recall explicitly negative reactions, the few critical voices I could hear are really rather normal and acceptible in the concert of voices that made themselves heard.  Rather, I took it that the text and the Pope’s accompanying letter to the bishops were received with great comprehension and ibjectivity.  We hope that the reception brings good fruits and the desidered outcomes."