The whole disappearing act of Benedict is so odd. Has anyone even seen him anywhere? Has he gone into forced hiding?
He makes the rare appearance. I just read that he offered his testimony for the cause for sainthood of JPI. His hiding is not at all forced but entirely self-imposed--he is actually a shy bookish type and that is what he wanted.
Basically, he is living almost like a cloistered monk now. He's retired to a life of prayer and is serving the Church that way. And this is just intuition but I'd bet Francis frequently secretly seeks Benedict's counsel.