Oh please. I think he really doesn’t want to be isolated the way Popes usually are and does want to live with other normal human beings (there are something like 60 monsignori who work at the Vatican who live there year round, as well as all sorts of visitors).
And I wouldn’t be surprised if BXVI himself recommended this. Remember, he was brought down by Vatican intrigues. One thing he said to a visitor was that his valet, the one who stole and leaked his personal papers, was also the one who gave him his medications every morning. “Just imagine,” he said.
So I think the Pope is probably a lot safer at the Domus Mariae than at the Vatican apartments. In any case, living there is relatively recent: popes lived at St John Lateran (the cathedral of Rome) until Pio Nono in 1903.
Interesting. It seems that the friendship between Pope Benedict and Pope Francis is a very good thing.
I think this is a legitimate expression of his desire to not live in splendor and grandeur.
Matthew 8:19-20
Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Personally, I think one of the greatest tragedies of the modern American (Western?) Church is our rampant, unbridled materialism and refusal to share generously with those in need. I am NOT talking about forced redistribution by a cold-hearted, corrupt government agency, but a voluntary LOVING gesture and a spirit of true sacrifice. I applaud Pope Francis for his example
He might just be used to that style of living, and after decades of apartment/dorm style life doesn’t want to live in the Papal residence.
To be honest, I don’t care. Both have drawbacks and bonuses.
Perhaps. From a security viewpoint, if there are more people that have access to the building and to him, then it is less safe for him than the papal apartments. Depending on how thorough the Vatileaks investigation was, the bad actors who haven't already been removed from service in the papal household could be removed.
I remember reading that the rooms that JPII and BXVI actually lived in were quite spartan.