Ex-pope Benedict wants name removed from controversial book -aide

Former Pope Benedict wants his name removed as co-author of a controversial book on the issue of priestly celibacy, his personal secretary said on Tuesday.

Archbishop Georg Ganswein told Reuters that, at the former pope's behest, he had asked the principal author of the book, Cardinal Robert Sarah, to ask the publishers to remove Benedict's name from the cover, the introduction, and the conclusion.

Some Roman Catholic scholars had rebuked the former pope for his comments in the book, saying his words risked destabilizing the reigning Pope Francis.