VATICAN CITY, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Former pope Benedict, who Pope Francis said on Wednesday was "very sick", resigned in 2013, the first pontiff in 600 years to take such a step rather than rule for life.
- Benedict, the first German pope in 1,000 years, was elected on April 19, 2005 to succeed the widely popular Pope John Paul II, who reigned for 27 years.
The Vatican under Pope John Paul II had failed to take action against Maciel despite overwhelming evidence of his crimes.
Some loyalists failed to accept that he had resigned the papacy willingly and continued to consider him "my pope".
Pope Francis, by contrast, also loves classical music but appreciates Italian pop songs from the early 1960s and also likes tango music from his native Argentina.