Vatican doctors photo of Benedict's praise for Francis
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Vatican has admitted that it altered a photo sent to the media of a letter from retired Pope Benedict XVI about Pope Francis' theological background. The manipulation changed the meaning of the image.
The Vatican's communications office released the photo to mark Francis' five-year anniversary.
In the part of the letter that is legible, Benedict praises a new volume of books on the theology of Francis as evidence of the "foolish prejudice" of critics who say Francis has no theological heft and represents a rupture from Benedict's papacy.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Vatican admitted Thursday that it blurred the two final lines of the page where Benedict begins to explain that he didn't read the books and cannot contribute a theological assessment of Francis as requested because he has other projects.