What will become of Archbishop Gänswein?

Ambassador, bishop or retiree: What will become of Gänswein?

What does the future hold for Benedict confidant, Georg Gänswein - will the Archbishop become Vatican ambassador or local bishop? Perhaps he will also return to his home in Freiburg as a pastor. Pope Francis wants him to leave the Vatican.

Since the death of Benedict XVI, the professional future of his long-time private secretary Georg Gänswein has been uncertain. Recently, however, Pope Francis told a journalist that Gänswein's career at the Vatican was over. In doing so, he recalled a famous example, namely Pope John Paul II's secretary, Stanisław Dziwisz. He went back to Poland after the Pope's death. So is Georg Gänswein coming back to his homeland, to Germany?

While Stanisław Dziwisz became Archbishop of Krakow on his return to Poland, Georg Gänswein is unlikely to have much hope of the bishop's chair in his home diocese of Freiburg. The Archbishop of Freiburg, Stephan Burger, is almost six years younger than Gänswein and has only been in office since 2014.

Gänswein must leave Vatican in a few months

Gänswein spent 20 years at the side of the late Pope Benedict in the Vatican. After the death of his employer, his future is still unclear. The only thing that is clear is that Gänswein will not stay at the Vatican. He would have to leave the Vatican in a few months, Francis told an Argentinian journalist.

"As a rule, clerics can rarely decide anything for themselves because they are obliged to obey," explains Thomas Schüller, an expert in canon law from Münster. "For a long time that was John Paul II. Then it was Benedict XVI, with whom Gänswein had a special relationship. And now it is Pope Francis who can tell him what to do and what not to do." Schüller says that this is not comparable to a bourgeois life, that someone simply decides freely what he wants to do next after finishing a job. "Here, the Pope decides and now we will see what Francis plans to do with him."

Gänswein could still become Vatican ambassador

So where Georg Gänswein ends up is not for him to decide. Nevertheless, there has been speculation since Benedict's death as to what job the close Benedict confidant will take on. In March, the Spanish-language religion portal "Religion Digital" reported that Gänswein would become Vatican ambassador to Costa Rica in Central America. Gänswein, however, rejected the reports as "fake news". However, Thomas Schüller believes that the possibility of him becoming ambassador of the Holy See somewhere in the world has not yet been ruled out: "He would have a lot to offer. He has a doctorate in canon law, but has not undergone the classical training of the papal diplomatic academy. But that is not an obstacle," says Schüller.

A second possibility would be to appoint Archbishop Gänswein to head a Diocese. "Bamberg is free at the moment," says Schüller. According to the Bavarian Concordat, the Pope appoints freely according to the proposals of the cathedral chapter and the Bavarian bishops. "Then he would have to be present at the proposals," says Schüller.

But there is another Archdiocese under discussion: the Archdiocese of Vaduz in Liechtenstein. Pope John Paul II founded it in December 1997 to transfer the controversial conservative Bishop Wolfgang Haas there. He is about to retire. Observers consider the Diocese a gathering place of arch-reactionary priests. Although Gänswein is too young to retire at 67, he is rather too old to be appointed local bishop. This is because bishops must resign at the age of 75. So his time in office would be relatively short.

Laity in Freiburg and Bamberg reserved

Many church representatives and lay people are rather reserved when it comes to Gänswein's future. Lay representatives from the archdioceses of Freiburg and Bamberg say they do not want to get involved or participate in speculations. "It is entirely up to Archbishop Gänswein how he arranges his future," says Martin Müller, executive director of the Diocesan Council in Freiburg. The view of a diocesan council is not decisive in this question and one does not want to participate in speculations. The Archdiocese of Bamberg also says it is "neutral towards everything".

Gänswein's possible appointment as head of a diocese is viewed critically by the initiative "We are Church". "That would be a decision that is not understood in Germany," believes Christian Weisner of the federal team. "Gänswein still stands too much for the course of Pope Benedict." The Benedict confidant in the German Bishops' Conference would divide rather than unite the body, Weisner believes. "That would call into question the synodal path we have just painstakingly brought to a close."

Gänswein as a retiree or pastor in Freiburg

Another alternative would be for Georg Gänswein to return as a pastor to his home diocese, the Archdiocese of Freiburg. "There he would first have to introduce himself to his acting boss, Archbishop Stephan Burger," says canon lawyer, Schüller. It would also be conceivable for Gänswein to retire, even if at 67 he is actually still too young for that. Canon lawyer, Schüller believes, however, that it could then be a little tight financially for the archbishop. "He gets a small pension because of his very long service in Rome. But it is extremely modest," says Schüller.

Nevertheless, his books could also make a small financial contribution to his pension. Already one day after Benedict's death, Georg Gänswein's book "Nichts als die Wahrheit" (Nothing but the truth) was published, which was then also published in German in March 2023.

"We are Church" does not hope for Gänswein's return

"It will probably be a combination of both incomes. After all, he is also a bit of a writer. He has now written a home story that sells quite well. But the attraction of colportage will also be over at some point," Schüller believes. But you don't get rich with theological books alone.

It is precisely because of Gänswein's exposé book that Christian Weisner of "Wir sind Kirche" hopes that the Archbishop will not take on an important role in the Catholic Church in Germany. Gänswein clearly takes sides in the book, he said. "If you look at the individual formulations, the whole problem of sexualised violence and the cover-up at the bishop level, he does not see that at all," Weisner criticises. Gänswein has a completely different understanding of the church and the church crisis has not yet reached him. "That is all being interpreted away. He is only taking the Church backwards, not forwards."

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