Benedict would have banned same-sex blessings, aide says on anniversary

Former Pope Benedict's closest aide and private secretary, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, leads a mass in memory of Pope Emeritus in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, December 31, 2023. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican marked the first anniversary on Sunday of the death of Pope Benedict XVI, with one of his closest aides saying he never would have approved a recent declaration allowing Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples.

Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, who was the Church's doctrinal chief under Benedict, and Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, who was Benedict's private secretary, both German, were two headliners at an event marking the anniversary and organised by the conservative U.S.-based Catholic television network EWTN.