VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has visited retired Pope Benedict XVI in the first known contact between the two popes following a major gaffe by Francis’ communications chief over his misrepresentation of a letter from Benedict.
The Vatican press office said Francis called on Benedict on Tuesday to bring him Easter greetings.
The meeting, however, came a week after Francis’ hand-picked communications czar, Monsignor Dario Vigano, was forced to resign over the so-called Lettergate scandal.
Vigano partially revealed the contents of a private letter from Benedict to make it seem as if he endorsed a new volume of books about Francis’ theology, when he hadn’t read it. Vigano then had a photo of the letter doctored to blur out Benedict’s full caveat.
The scandal led to accusations the Vatican was spreading “fake news.”
